YEAR 2022 was a historic one for EJ Obiena as he put the Philippines on the map in a sport where Filipinos were rarely in the spotlight.
After cementing his status as one of the Philippines’ brightest athletes when he made it to the Tokyo Olympics, Obiena thrived under the microscope in 2022 even with the controversies that he got involved with.
Last July, Obiena reached the pinnacle of his still-emerging career in pole vault, taking the bronze in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon – the first-ever Filipino to capture a medal in the competition.
Overcoming tremendous odds not just in the competition but outside of it as well, Obiena registered 5.94 meters to finish third in the competition that drew the best in the world. Only Olympic champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden, who won the gold with a world-record jump of 6.21, and Chris Nilsen of the US, were better than Obiena with the Filipino pole vaulter settling for the bronze on a countback after Nilsen cleared the same height.
Obiena’s historic feat also became the best in Asia, shattering his own mark of 5.93 meters that he set during the International Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria last September.
With his feat in the worlds, Obiena was able to climb in the world rankings, going up to No. 3 from sixth, with Duplantis and Nilsen the only ones ahead of him.
Obiena flourished in 2022 despite a rift with his mother federation, the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association and its then-president Philip Ella Juico, over the alleged mishandling of the funds intended for his Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov. It was a controversy that dragged on for several months and even reached the halls of the Senate and Congress.
Eventually, the warring camps reached a settlement through the intercession of the Philippine Sports Commission.
Even with the distractions, however, Obiena continued to flourish in several meets all over Europe, reaching a level of sustained success by a Filipino track and field athlete never been seen before.
Among the many competitions that he won were the Orlen Cup, Orlen Copernicus Cup, European City of Sports, Taby Stavhoppsgala, Jump and Fly Series and the Wanda Diamond League Brussels, a meet where he even beat Duplantis last September.
A highlight of Obiena’s 2022 as well was the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi. Coming back to the region following his whirlwind tour of Europe, Obiena reasserted his dominance by successfully defending his gold in the regional multisports conclave with a 5.46, his personal best back then, last May. At the close of the biennial meet, Obiena had one of the 52 gold medals that the Philippines won in Vietnam.
The 2022 for Obiena has also made him certain that his future is bright if he continues to reach for bigger goals in his career. That future includes the 2024 Paris Olympics where he thinks that a medal is within striking distance.
“I proved to myself what I’ve been saying that I can compete with these guys and I can win,” said Obiena.
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