He might just give the Philippines its second Olympic gold medal.
Unleash the beast!
Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena has been on a break since dominating the competition in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last September. During his respite, the world number two has been doing different things to replenish his mojo, including doing vlogs with Philippine volleyball superstar Alyssa Valdez. Now fully recharged, the pride of Tondo, Manila is ready to return to the grind as he fully knows what’s at stake in the coming months.
On Sunday, Obiena went across his social media pages to announce that he has officially begun training for the Olympics, which is set to take place in Paris, France next year.
“SO IT BEGINS!!! Olympic season's first training camp has officially started,” the 28-year-old athletics star posted.
As it appears, Obiena will begin his road toward Olympic gold in Estadi Olímpic Camilo Cano, a stadium located in La Nucia,Spain. For sure, it’s a place Obiena will look back on should his second Olympic campaign turn out to be a resounding success.
EJ’s first stint in the Olympics came at the Tokyo Games back in 2021. He had an underwhelming performance that time, and he’s surely aching to make amends in the French capital.
Obiena is the first Filipino to book a ticket to the 2024 Olympics. He did it back in July after clearing the qualifying standard of 5.82 meters in the Stockholm Diamond League-Bauhaus Galan in Sweden. He finished second in that tournament, behind world number 1 Armand Duplantis of Sweden, who will likely be the guy standing between Obiena and the gold medal in Paris.
Expect the entire Philippines to rally behind EJ as he tries to become the second Filipino athlete, after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, to become an Olympic champion.
(CF)