Philippines’ EJ Obiena celebrates after successful the lads’s pole vault ultimate on the nineteenth Asian Video games in Hangzhou, China, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. (AP Photograph/Lee Jin-man)
EJ Obiena stirred up the group on the colossal Hangzhou Olympic Sports activities Park Most important Stadium with almost 80,000 individuals clapping in a single rhythm.
And with one explosive vault, reset the Asian Video games (Asiad) file that turned out to be one in every of 4 gold medals that the Philippine contingent gained within the quadrennial meet in September. That was undoubtedly one of many highlights of the yr for the 28-year-old from Tondo and a feat that helped him turn into the only recipient of the Athlete of the 12 months honor within the coming San Miguel Company-Philippine Sportswriters Affiliation (PSA) Awards Evening.
Gilas Pilipinas ending a 61-year drought by bagging the basketball gold within the Asiad, the Filipinas nationwide workforce scoring a historic win in its Worldwide Federation of Soccer Associations (Fifa) Ladies’s World Cup debut, and the pair of Margarita “Meggie” Ochoa and Annie Ramirez attaining a double gold for jiu-jitsu within the Hangzhou Asiad, have been all thought-about for the distinguished award.
Obiena merely stood out and is thrilled to be in an environment resembling that, anticipating that the cheers from the stands will reverberate even louder within the 2024 Olympics in Paris with one thing greater on the road.
“It’s important to study to like that strain. Strain is a privilege as one tennis star places it, and it actually is,’’ stated Obiena, one in every of 4 Filipinos who certified to the quadrennial Video games within the glamorous French capital subsequent yr.
With eight months to go in what might be the most important problem of his profession, the perfect pole vaulter within the continent has one factor in thoughts—win that gold medal within the Olympics no much less.
Beating Mondo
Ending the yr because the No. 2 vaulter on this planet, Obiena should go by a gauntlet of equally decided rivals in American Christopher Nilsen and Australian Kurtis Marschall, to call a number of. However the chief goal has all the time been to beat world champion and record-holder Mondo Duplantis.
Obiena bested the top-ranked Swede twice in lesser meets and positioned second to the defending Olympic gold medalist on this planet championships this yr, readily putting in the Italy-based Filipino because the underdog.
And that’s nice so far as Obiena is worried.
“It’s simpler to be the underdog. You aren’t anticipated to do a lot, however there’s all the time a struggle in you. It’s simpler to upset [the favorite] than to be anticipated [to win],’’ stated Obiena, who owns the Asian file of 6 meters and belongs to a uncommon breed of vaulters on this planet who’ve conquered the peak.
Even in the course of the holidays, Obiena was neck-deep in getting himself in form after only a few months of relaxation following that Asian Video games title, because the 2024 athletics indoor season kicks off late January with the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, on March 1 to March 3.
With no Southeast Asian Video games (SEA), Asian championships and even a world out of doors championship scheduled this yr, Obiena will marketing campaign largely in Europe on the highway to the Olympics the place his stint again in 2020 in Tokyo didn’t finish effectively.
Obiena has that debacle in the back of his thoughts and swears it made him sterner.
“I realized to give attention to myself slightly bit extra and I understood what it takes to be on prime slightly bit higher,” he stated. “I really feel that I’m higher mentally and bodily since I turned older. The check of time has made me stronger.’’
Detesting the potential for one other failed podium try in Paris contemplating the beneficial properties he made the previous yr, Obiena stated: “It could be a disgrace if that occurs. Hopefully, by that point, I’ll have a medal round my neck.’’
Handing out the Athlete of the 12 months to Obiena is actually a no brainer, contemplating the plethora of medals, victories and record-breakers he managed to perform, with a part of the credit score going to his workforce of Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov, physiotherapist Francesco Viscusi, osteopath Antonio Guglietta and mentor James Michael Lafferty.
Story behind medals
He bagged the SEA Video games gold for the third straight version with an easy soar of 5.65 m regardless of the slippery situations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, one stormy evening in Might.
Obiena then pulled off one other spectacular feat lower than a month later, becoming a member of the elite 6-m membership on the Bergen Leap Problem in Norway earlier than assembly the Olympic qualifying commonplace of 5.82 m on the Stockholm Diamond League-Bauhaus Galan in Sweden in July.
He turned the primary Filipino qualifier for the Paris Summer season Video games earlier than gymnasts Carlos Yulo and Aleah Finnegan in addition to boxer Eumir Marcial additionally made it in the identical month, Obiena moved up a notch larger to second general on this planet rankings, surpassing Olympic silver medalist Nilsen.
“Every of those medals has a giant story behind it. Three straight SEA Video games, twice within the Asian championships, which was in all probability the toughest one to defend, the house strain (towards China’s Huang Bokai) within the Asian Video games and the world championships as effectively,’’ stated Obiena.
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He understandably finds it tough to select a favourite from them, however the unwritten one in his Paris Olympic exploit might be his best story but.