By Gab Ferreras
THE Philippines’ Ernest John “EJ” Obiena capped another season to remember after successfully defending his title and setting a new tournament record in pole vault at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
The 30-year-old Manila native cleared 5.91 meters to capture one of the Philippines’ four gold medals in the quadrennial meet while establishing a new Asian Games record, further cementing his status as Asia’s top pole vaulter and returning to the Top 10 of World Pole Vault rankings.
Obiena, a Chiang Kai Shek College High School Batch 2012 graduate, recently returned to his alma mater, where he reflected on a productive season highlighted by 10 gold-medal finishes in various international pole vault competitions.
“It is a welcome outcome. That’s something that I wanted to do, but of course, there are certain things in life that I want to point out in my career where it’s not just about getting there. How did you get there, how I feel when I’m there, it’s very crucial,” Obiena said during a media conference at CKSC.
The Paris Olympian also shared his thoughts on his new training environment in Athens, Greece, following his long partnership with former coach Vitaly Petrov, as he sets his sights on the indoor season and qualifying tourneys for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“The enviroment is great. Its something that i never really expect to have with that, i’m very happy. Greater heights for sure, the goal is to consistently jumped over 6 meters, which i believe is possible. I talked with my coach, we have a couple of things to be adjust, it takes some time but the good thing i have the time for the next indoor season to experiement and test the boundaries of what i can do and hopefully improve my techniques,”he added.
After the event, Obiena also took time to play tennis and film a TikTok video with Asian Games bronze medalist Alex Eala, which later went viral on social media.
“I am just happy to be with her, trying to played leftie which i have not yet played before feels how the balls hit when comes out of Alex’s racket. I’m a fan of the game, i’m a fan of Alex. I’m nothing but praises for this girl. She’s doing amazing things for the country, and she is in the much better sport that I am,” added Obiena.
