Maintaining a six-meter performance will be the ultimate mission when Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena returns to Italy this Sunday.
The 27-year-old Obiena said he will work closely with his Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov so that he can breach the six-meter mark that will serve as the key in emerging with a gold medal in the Paris Olympics next year.
Although he has a personal best of 6.0 meters, which he did twice this year, Obiena still struggled to clear 6.02 meters during the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou last week.
In the end, he just settled for 5.90 meters, which is still impressive as it shattered the Asian Games record of Seito Yamamoto of Japan, who soared to 5.70 meters during the Jakarta edition of the Asian Games in 2018.
Still, he needs to consistently surpass the six-meter barrier if he wants to win an Olympic medal since he will be stacked with world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden, whose personal best is 6.12 meters.
“All I can say is that it will be a lot of hard work and precise timings of certain things,” Obiena said.
“I still need to take it under control. It was my first time doing it and it definitely showed its potential. I was able to do it twice this year and I was consistent at 5.90 meters.”
Despite that, Obiena remains the toast of Philippine sports back home as he is being showered with financial rewards for his record-setting performance in Hangzhou.
Yesterday, he was able to receive P5 million from the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Inc., headed by industrialist Cecilio Pedro.
He was also given P3 million by his former school, Chiang Kai Shek College, and P1 million each from businessmen Anson Tan and Carlos Chan.
The Philippine Sports Commission, through the Republic Act 10699 or the Athletes and Coaches Incentives Act, is also set to reward him with P2 million while the Philippine Olympic Committee promised him P1 million.
He said the Asian Games will be his final tourney this season.
Prior to the prestigious continental meet, Obiena clinched the silver medal in the World Athletics Championships in Thailand last July and silver medal in the Diamond League in Oregon in September.
He also copped the gold in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia and became the first Filipino to qualify for the Olympics last July after hitting the qualifying mark of 5.82 meters in the Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden.
The pole vaulter from Tondo, Manila embraces the pressure of being one of the favorites as he chases the elusive Olympic medal in Paris.
“Pressure is a privilege, that’s something I always tell myself. Sometimes, I would even look for it,” Obiena, who was in a meet-and-greet event in Allianz PNB Life following an auction of some of his personal items in a gallery in San Juan and graced an FFCCCI event.
“I don’t think I should have any issue about that and Vitaly made sure I’m tough as nails when it comes to these kind of things,” he said.
Obiena said his goal is to beat Duplantis someday.
“I would say he’s nothing short of an amazing athlete. He’s elevated the sport up to a certain level,” said Obiena, who will shift his focus on the indoor season starting February while preparing for the Olympics.
“I think I can beat him. That’s why I have been training and have a lot of things to work on. All I have been thinking about is how to improve and close that gap.”
