Filipino medal hopeful EJ Obiena shoots for a spot in the men's pole vault final as he sees action in the Paris Olympics athletics qualification
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena is good to go for the Paris Olympics after encountering “physical problems.”
Obiena, one of the Philippines’ top medal bets, shoots for a spot in the men’s pole vault final as he sees action in the athletics qualification on Saturday, August 3, at the Stade de France.
“Made it in one piece! So better make it count!” Obiena wrote on his social media pages.
Obiena needs to clear the qualification standard of 5.80 meters or be among the 12 best performers from the 32-man field headlined by defending Olympic champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden to reach the finale.
That is a doable task for Obiena, who holds the Asian record of 6.00m.
He posted a year-best clearance of 5.95m in ruling the Irena Szewinska Memorial in Poland in June and hurdled 5.75m for a fourth-place finish in the Meeting de Paris in France in July – his final competition before the Olympics.
Obiena, though, raised concerns about his fitness in the lead-up to the Olympics after revealing that he has been “battling with various physical problems” for months.
Ranked second in the world behind Duplantis, Obiena added he needed to stop training as he underwent “a variety of medical procedures.”
But Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Terry Capistrano said Obiena is ready.
“He’s handling it properly and it’s being attended to,” said Capistrano, without disclosing what exactly Obiena is dealing with. “He should be okay.”
“Whatever it is, as far as I know, it’s manageable.”
Obiena, who finished runner-up to Duplantis in the World Athletics Championships last year, aims to weave the same magic as he hopes to bounce back from a disappointing run in the Tokyo Games where he placed 11th.
Aside from heavy favorite Duplantis, also in contention for medals are former Olympic medalists Sam Kendricks and Chris Nilsen of the United States and Kurtis Marschall of Australia, who complete the top five in the world.
Start time is 4:10 pm (Manila time). – Rappler.com