HANGZHOU – EJ Obiena could have opted to settle for the gold and the new pole vault record in the 19th Asian Games.
But he wanted to make a person so close to him feel special as his birthday approaches.
The 27-year-old Filipino Olympian said he attempted to clear 6.02 meters during Saturday’s men pole vault finals as a birthday gift to his long-time coach Vitaly Petrov.
Obiena shattering the old Asiad record with his 5.90 meters attempt came at least a week before Petrov would have turned 78 years old.
“I wanted to stop at 5.90. But Vitaly said you know, try 6.02,” Obiena related moments after his record-breaking feat before a jampacked crowd at the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium.
“It’s his birthday in the next six days and so I said I wanted to give him a good gift, but he needs to wait a little bit more. So we’ll see.”
Obiena’s personal best – and current Asian record - stands at 6.00 meters which he did twice, the last during the recent World Championship in Budapest, Hungary where he copped the silver medal.
Ranked No. 2 in the world behind undisputed Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis, Obiena thrice attempted going over 6.00 meters but failed in all efforts.
But it was a good try, according to Obiena, who now takes a well-deserved break for the rest of the year before starting to train and prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I gave it a good go, the best that I can,” said Obiena, one of two flag bearers for the Philippines during the opening ceremony.
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