AS THE Tokyo Olympics nears, EJ Obiena is on a roll.
The pole vaulter has been tearing it up in Europe, bagging silver in the 2021 FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands, then beating his own personal record to get gold in Jump and Fly in Mossingen, Germany.
Then, just yesterday, he shared the top spot in Germany’s Stabhochsprung Manner athletic meet.
But in an episode of The Varsitarian’s “V Exclusives” last Sunday, the 25-year-old pole vaulter nodded to the challenges up ahead.
“So far I think I’m on the right track, how I wanna be at certain times like today so I’ll say I’m in good shape, preparations are going well, still a lot of things that I need to do,” he said.
EJ Obiena takes flight
Throughout the years, his mindset and training have remained consistent, even with the spotlight of the world games.
“I go [day] in, day out with the same goal for the past few years. I've been training this way [...] it’s just a little bit more motivation, because you know [the] Olympics is the biggest stage,” Obiena said.
Obiena, a former UST trackster, added: “I wanna do good.”
Still, he mentioned, it’s been hard training overseas during a pandemic, far away from his home country. But in some ways, the global health crisis, which postponed the 2020 Olympics into this year, has become a boon for the athlete.
“I used that time to be stronger, faster, better, and [a] better athlete overall, and of course it wasn’t like that,” he said.
Obiena continued, “But I’m happy how I used the time that was given. In my opinion I used this unforeseen event to my advantage.”
The SEA Games gold medalist is currently training in Formia, Italy under the coaching of Vitaly Petrov, Ukrainian pole vault coach.
He was the first Filipino to qualify for the Olympics after clearing the standard record of 5.80 meters during the Pole Vaulting athletics meet in Piazza Chiari, Italy in 2019.
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