Filipino pole-vaulter EJ Obiena just bankrupt new national checklist (again): He talks Tokyo Olympics, Mondo Duplantis, and you may feeling the latest love from the Philippines inside our personal chat.
EJ Obiena are smiling as he appears towards videocall. “Disappointed, was only carrying out my personal Covid decide to try,” he says, “it is bad, therefore that is great.”
It’s the most recent great in a strong stream of a news for EJ whose incredible interior season has given cure for a great outdoor seasons towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Video game merely months away.
Obiena has a couple of times damaged federal suggestions and you may skyrocketed themselves to your the top podium over world champ Sam Kendricks and you may Olympic silver medallist Thiago Braz.
Towards the Obiena put a separate Filipino checklist of 5.85m, profitable the new Dive and Travel battle during the Mossingen, Germany, one to mark surpassed his very own list of 5.81 that he place in in Chiari, Italy – a dot you to definitely produced your the initial Filipino to help you qualify for Tokyo 2020.
Private! EJ Obiena kits sights to the Philippines’ first ever Olympic silver: “This is the purpose”
New Olympic postponement has given Obiena a year to operate much harder and go higher and now he is climbing steadily towards the magic 6m mark, putting themselves from the reckoning on the podium at rescheduled in the summertime from 2021.
It pole-vaulter is the pleasure out-of Filipino track and field and is from inside the undoubtedly regarding the their goal within Tokyo Games:
“Victory this new gold, that’s it child. That is a tremendously difficult objective to attain, but that’s the prospective. That’s why I’m creating all of this, not to ever get second rather than to acquire 3rd. so you can victory it.” – EJ Obiena
Is Obiena exercise besök webbplatsen här however become the earliest actually Filipino to help you victory a keen Olympic silver medal, permanently creating his label for the Olympic lore from a nation excited about sport.
Read on for this exclusive interview into Philippine eagle, off their Olympic will the latest Filipino restaurants he misses (Such as for example new coconut liquid, mangoes and you may Jollibbee!), exactly how Covid almost generated him call it quits and go back home, along with his 75-year-old mentor Vitaly Petrov who convinced him to keep supposed.
We also read about exactly how he looks after their psychological state away from your home, the latest family relations they are made, his wife that and a runner, while the challenging help he feels out-of Filipinos far and wide.
Just how higher is also EJ Obiena wade?
5.62m (5th) during the Karlsruhe World Indoor Tour, 5.80m (1st) during the ISTAF Berlin, 5.68m (1st) inside the Dortmund, 5.60m (5th) at the WA indoor Journey Silver into the Lievin, 5.86m (2nd) at the Orlen Cup in Lodz, 5.80m (3rd) within Copernicus Glass, Torun.
Now they have his landscapes set on the new Asian record out of 5.93, however for EJ its not exactly about new numbers.
“And so i understand this level goal top that i want to go but meanwhile not all battle gift ideas the latest chance for you to definitely make one pub, you are sure that. When it comes to battle, We desire on the latest club that is lay nowadays.
“Starting competition, when you consider the brand new list and you will somebody jumps more you to listing, you’re basically including, oh s. I must jump more than that?
“So i envision the best particular therapy starting race is that i must be he who jumps greater than other industry. I focus on effective the newest suits.”
His outdoor seasons began remarkably as he cleared 5.80 in order to ideal this new podium in Summer, then cleared one to Olympic simple again within 2021 FBK Video game about Netherlands, where the guy stepped-up on the podium about just Mondo, who eliminated six.10m.