Obiena delivers strong finish
EJ Obiena shut down his indoor season with a bang as he claimed the bronze medal in the men’s pole vault event of the Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland early Thursday.
Obiena, the first Filipino to qualify in the Tokyo Olympics, tallied 5.80 meters together with gold medalist Sam Kendricks of the United States and hometown bet Piotr Lisek in the final tournament of the indoor season.
Kendricks, who copped the bronze medal in the London Olympics in 2016, grabbed the gold after posting the winning mark in just a single attempt while Lisek prevailed over Obiena via countback.
I’m going home with a bronze medal and a lot of learning and some bruises.
Still, the Filipino vault star edged some of the biggest names in the sport like reigning Olympic champion Thiago Braz of Brazil and fellow Olympians Pawel Wojciechowski of Poland and Matt Ludwig of the United States.
“Tough game, but still thankful for the 5.80 jump on countback,” Obiena said in a social media post.
“I’m going home with a bronze medal and a lot of learning with some bruises.”
It was such a spectacular season for Obiena.
He opened his campaign with a pair of gold medals in the ISTAF Berlin Meet on 6 February and PSD Dortmund Meet on 8 February.
He also had a record-setting performance in the Orlen Cup last week, where he soared with a personal-best 5.86 meters.
The 24-year-old Obiena said he couldn’t do it without the support of his coach, Vitaly Petrov of Ukraine, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA).
“Thank you coach Vitaly for traveling and going through all the tests, travels, stress and, most importantly, the patience you have given me,” Obiena said.
“Also, PSC and PATAFA, thank you very much. It has been a blast and definitely would be possible without you.”
PATAFA president Philip Ella Juico said there is no doubt that there was a massive improvement in Obiena’s performance.
“He took part in six competitions and won four medals. It’s not a bad performance after all,” Juico said.
“According to his coaches, he could even reach maybe around 5.90 meters right now. He’ll surely get there soon.”