EJ OBIENA’S 2022 season debut will have to wait.
Initially scheduled to see action in Karlsruhe in Germany on Saturday, Obiena’s adviser Jim Lafferty said the Filipino pole vaulter will instead begin the indoor season in Berlin next week in order to train further.
Lafferty said Obiena hasn’t had enough preparation following surgery to clean his meniscus and remove a screw from the ACL reconstruction surgery he had in 2017.
Lafferty assured that Obiena is pain free, and only needs some time before he competes again.
“We have decided to pull out of Karlsruhe. EJ just hasn’t had enough training days post surgery and his timing is off. And of course the ongoing issues vis a vis Patafa don’t help,” said Lafferty.
“The knee is fine and pain free. He just is having timing issues particularly on a full approach and this takes some time to work out,” said Lafferty.
The last time Obiena competed was in September 2021 when he finished fourth, incidentally, in the ISTAF Berlin Continental Tour.
Obiena has since been embroiled in a controversy with his mother federation Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) over the alleged non-payment of salaries of his coach Vitaly Petrov.
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