Friendly rivalry
Obiena, Braz clash for Olympic glory They may have both trained under coach Vitaly, but they both want the same thing: Win the Olympic gold medal
They may have been longtime training partners, but EJ Obiena and Brazilian superstar Thiago Braz are setting their friendship aside as they shoot for the gold medal in the men’s pole vault event of the Tokyo Olympics. Emerson Obiena yesterday said his son and Braz are no longer as chummy as before as their competitive juices start to flow.
The 27-year-old Braz is coming in as the reigning champion. In fact, he tallied a record-breaking 6.03-meter leap when he clinched the gold medal in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, making him the athlete to beat in this edition of the Summer Games that unwraps on 31 July at the National Stadium. He trained under the watchful eyes of Vitaly Petrov, who also handles the preparations of the 25-year-old Obiena.
Braz and Obiena worked together at the International Amateur Athletics World Pole Vault Centre in Formia, Italy and drew strength from each other as they battle the challenges of staying in shape amid the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in Italy.
They were also together as they hopped from one tournament to another in preparation for the Summer Games.
With this, we expect a very fierce competition in the Olympics.
But Emerson said this relationship would have to be set aside as they shoot for the gold medal with Braz fighting for pride and his son looking to become the first Filipino to win the Olympic mint since the country joined the Games in 1924.
“They may have both trained under coach Vitaly, but they both want the same thing: Win the Olympic gold medal,” said Emerson, also a former member of the national team who stood as his son’s first coach.
“With this, we expect a very fierce competition in the Olympics.”
Emerson admitted that Obiena and Braz have already put their game faces on.
“They are both competitive so even if they are very close, they will be prepared once the battle begins.”
On the field, the performance of the reigning champion — Braz — and the challenger — Obiena — are very close, guaranteeing a slam-bang battle come the Summer Games.
Although Braz has a personal best of 6.03 meters, Obiena is not far behind with 5.87 meters and managed to pull off some victories that made him a solid contender in the Olympics.
They even emerged as co-champions at the True Athletic Classics in Leverkusen, Germany last June after they registered an identical 5.80 meters.
Still, Emerson said he wouldn’t be surprised if Obiena and Braz cheer each other, especially if they are already stacked against the likes of world record-holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden, Rio silver medalist Sam Kendricks of the United States and London Olympics champion Renaud Lavillenie of France.
“You can see in their past games, pole vaulters are supporting each other in the background.
They will help each other out whenever a vaulter needs rhythm,” Emerson said.