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    EJ Obiena stands firm: 'I don’t think there’s a place in sports for doping'

    'The definition of sport should not even entertain doping'
    Oct 19, 2023
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    PHOTO: Jerome Ascano

    FOR a suddenly embattled EJ Obiena who faces doping allegations from a fellow pole vaulter's wife, doping takes opportunites away from athletes and "should never have space" in sports.

    The world's second-ranked men's pole vaulter adamantly posited his anti-doping stance amid "baseless" claims thrown against him.

    READ: EJ Obiena lie detector results prove innocence on doping claims

    "I don’t think there’s a place in sports for doping. All athletes get one chance to be an elite athlete. And if you’re robbed of a moment, a split moment at that, you can never get it back," said Obiena.

    EJ Obiena

    While Obiena hasn't been the collateral damage of a doped competitor, the Filipino trackster knows the feeling of being stripped of a chance to compete all too well.

    "I’ve been quite lucky to have competed and not be robbed of an opportunity due to a competitor being doped.

    "But I’ve been robbed of my entry to a world championship back in 2022. It hurts and I can’t get that time back. I don’t know if I would ever get a chance again to compete at that level that I could," Obiena recalled.

    Albeit non-doping related, Obiena's four-month row with local governing body Patafa led to the denial of his worlds bid despite reaching the qualifying standard and was the only top-ranked vaulter to miss the event.

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      Ultimately under any circumstance, Asia's best men's pole vaulter made his stance on such a career-destructing act like doping crystal clear.

      "Therefore, I truly believe that doping should never have space in this sport. The definition of sport should not even entertain doping."

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      PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
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