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    After this short break, EJ Obiena resumes training with eyes on Paris 2024

    EJ Obiena takes lone break before Paris build-up
    Sep 15, 2022
    EJ Obiena
    EJ Obiena with mother Jeannette, girlfriend Caroline Joyeaux, and father Emerson.

    EJ OBIENA is taking a much-deserved vacation in the Philippines before starting the build-up not just for next year but also for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

    Obiena has come home to the Philippines after three years, and will spend a three-week vacation before going back to Italy to prepare for the 2023 season. There will be no R&R for Obiena after this trip as training will be until the Paris Olympics where he hopes to cop a medal.

    See EJ Obiena returns home after successful international campaign

    Coach Vitaly Petrov has already arranged the training program in the lead-up to Paris.

    “I’m staying here for maybe three weeks. I’m not sure yet [when I’ll come back to Italy] but I’m going back. Vitaly said this is going to be my last time going here before Paris. He already planned the things we need to do. Hopefully, we will stick to it and manage everything going to Paris,” said Obiena on Thursday after a courtesy call with Philippine Sports Commission chairman Noli Eala.

    Obiena’s respite comes on the heels of a successful 2022 season where he captured a bronze medal in the World Athletics Championship in Eugene, Oregon last July. Some of his notable victories of the season include the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi last May, and winning the title over Armand Duplantis in the Brussels Diamond League, a part of a stretch where he won six meets in three weeks.

    For now, Obiena will be enjoying the offseason with his family – parents Emerson and Jeannette – as well as his girlfriend Caroline Joyeaux. Obiena said the rest will be much-needed before he plunges back to training mode.

    “I’m planning to go somewhere in some islands in the Philippines to really just disconnect. It’s been three years that I haven’t had an offseason. This is my time to spend with my family and really have a break. I’m still human. My psychologist always say I perform my best when I’m the best EJ Obiena as a person as well. I need to balance my buckets and I need to be able to be hungry to train when I get back,” said Obiena.

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    EJ ObienaEJ Obiena is set for another busy schedule after this

    “It begins with rest right now,” Obiena said when asked about the beginning of his Olympic journey. “I think this is going to be my last unwinding, really kinda zone out, step away from that day-to-day mundane nomadic that I need to live from October until August 2024.”

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    When he returns to Italy, Obiena said there won’t be any breaks again, even during the Christmas holidays, as Petrov vowed to be with him during training everyday.

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      “I need to push my coach but we had a deal. He said that I should not get sick. He is not gonna get sick. I’m going to be there in everyday that I train. It’s kind of a pact that I need to respect the guy. He is 77. He is going to be in the track every single day. I can’t say ‘Oh, I have to have a break,’” said Obiena.

      Obiena said he has been asked by Petrov to stay active by cross-training and playing other sports but being careful not to get injured.

      “In general, stay fit, don’t get fat,” said Obiena with a smile.

      After his courtesy call with Eala, Obiena is scheduled to meet with Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Terry Capistrano. The Filipino pole vaulter will also pay a courtesy call to Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino and the executive board on Friday.

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      EJ Obiena with mother Jeannette, girlfriend Caroline Joyeaux, and father Emerson.
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