TOKYO - EJ Obiena's dad heaved a sigh of relief, playfully rubbing his hands on his chest after a nervous start by the Philippine entry in pole vault. So did most of the Filipinos in the small crowd at the New National Stadium.
In contrast, Obiena's legendary coach was a picture of calm.
"In three days we'll be here in the finals," Vitaly Petrov, the Russian coach credited for the rise of pole vault legends Sergey Bubka and Yelena Isinbayeva, said after Obiena barely qualified for the finals in his Olympic debut.
Petrov's calming influence should ease all concerns about the form and shape of the 25-year old Obiena, who many believe has the chance to deliver the Philippines' first athletics medal in the Olympics in 89 years.
However, Obiena didn't look like one during the qualification phase on Saturday. He cleared attempts at 5.50 meters and and 5.65m but suddenly struggled at 5.75m, fouling once and failing to clear it in his second attempt.
Emerson Obiena, a former national athlete himself, said there was something off with the demeanor of his son before the competition. EJ himself admitted he didn't feel right at all, admitting he was nervous.
'Strange feeling'
"When I woke up this morning, I felt normal, and a bit lazy. I felt very nervous even if I’m trying to say and feel not to. As the time passed, I felt more and more nervous. After my performance it made me realize that I need to start moving and feel normal," he said.
"I didn’t feel that I’m already competing in the Olympics, I was just feeling very sluggish, which is really strange. I didn’t feel like me until the bar moved at 5.75m at first attempt," the world No. 6 added.
But with Team Obiena holding its collective breath, the overseas-trained Filipino bet regained his bearings in the nick of time and cleared the height on his final attempt to join 13 others in the finals on August 3.
All the 14 pole vaulters bound for the finals did 5.75m, including world No. 1 and gold-medal favorite Armand Duplantis of Sweden, and defending champion Braz Tiago of Brazil, who also happens to be Obiena's stablemate.
Obiena is happy to get the nervous performance behind him, and figures to perform better in the finals, although he expected some angry words from his coach, too.
"For the next round, I’ll talk to my coach about our game plan. I know he’s gonna be mad right now for what I did. I didn’t follow some of his calls, and I was struggling mentally, then I didn’t feel that confident," he said.
"If I had another chance, then I’m gonna make it."
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