EJ OBIENA is shifting his focus to the outdoor season after missing a ticket to the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China from March 21 to 23.
Obiena said in a Facebook post that he no longer has any competition inside the qualification period that runs until March 9. Obiena’s season best is 5.80 meters, still below the qualifying standard of 5.85m.
The Filipino pole vaulter said he still has one competition for the indoor season – the Mondo Classic on March 13 – but the event is already beyond the qualification period.
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Obiena competed in the World Athletics Indoor Championships last year in Glascow, Scotland, finishing ninth after clearing 5.65 meters.
“With limited time to return this indoor season, my results have been far from consistent,” said the 29-year-old Obiena. “Vaulting has been a roller-coaster, with huge ups and downs. Being consistent takes repetition after repetition which takes time.”
“Even though there is still time to qualify for the World Indoor Championships, there are no more competitions left for me to participate. The last competition was on the 16th of February in Torun, Poland and the next one that I got is Mondo Classic on the 13th of March, which is already outside the qualification period.
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“I can promise you all that my team and I have scoured the calendar for possible competitions but no luck. With this, I would inevitably miss the championships,” said Obiena.
Obiena said he is now turning his attention to the outdoor season as he admitted the first few months since he returned to competition from a fractured vertebrae suffered last season is an adjustment period for him.
Obiena, however, assured that his back has already healed.
“The start of back pain — which we later discovered was a fracture in one of my vertebrae — led to constant pain and I had to manage and adapt my vaulting technique to lessen the pain and make sure I get to Olympics with some fighting chance. This in turn led me to altering my technique to adjust for limitations.
“I healed over end of 2024 and I am happy to say my back is fine. I am also happy to say that training is looking better and in some aspects better that they have ever been,” said Obiena.
Obiena said he will now be preparing for the major competitions of the 2025 outdoor season, while also explicitly saying that he will be seeing action in the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand later in the year where a virtual gold medal awaits after ruling the event in Phnom Penh in 2023.
“The indoor season is always a backseat to the outdoor season. I will hence prioritize and prepare for the upcoming outdoor competition. This is when I would represent the country in the World Championships, Asian Championships and SEA Games.”
“The key is to go into the outdoor season healthy and ready to compete at the highest level. It is also important to defend what I have already achieved in these championships,” said Obiena, who was the silver medalist in the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, and reigning champion in the 2023 Asian Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.
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