Fan support will get him through the tough days, says Obiena

EJ Obiena is setting his sights on the Paris Olympics
Oct 12, 2022
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PHOTO: (Right) Lio Mangubat

IT’S BACK to the grind soon for EJ Obiena.

After a well-deserved one-month vacation following a spectacular 2022 season, the world number three pole vaulter is girding himself to go back to Europe for even more training.

If there’s anything he’ll miss about his home country, it’s going to be the food.

“I’m not going to be able to eat the way I’m eating now,” he laughingly told Spin.ph during a visit to the Summit Media offices. “I need to suck it up again for the next two years.”

His short sojourn in the Philippines was his first break in three years. In a press conference at the Philippine Sports Commission last September, he told reporters that he would not be taking any breaks once he flies back to Italy. Coach Vitaly Petrov has even vowed that they’ll be training during the Christmas holidays.

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    EJ Obiena hopes to bring home a medal in the Paris Olympics

    The big goal, of course, is the 2024 Paris Olympics.

    “I’m going to do my best,” he said. “I hope that, come 2024, we’ll bring some hardware back home, and make you guys happy and proud.”

    It’s the thought of all his supporters that will get him through the tough days, said Obiena.

    “Those are the little things that keep me going in the days [when] it’s hard.”

    Obiena closed his 2022 campaign with an impressive haul of medals, including a bronze at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon last July, and a gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi.

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    PHOTO: (Right) Lio Mangubat
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