No excuses for EJ Obiena but the world no. 2 pole vaulter did admit that his spine injury had affected his performance and training for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
EJ Obiena is not one to give excuses for coming up short in the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
After his nerve-wracking qualification, Obiena looked poised for a medal finish after his strong start in the finals but ultimately could not get past 5.95 meters, which could have given him either the silver or bronze medal.
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But according to his advisor and friend Jim Lafferty, the Pinoy pole vaulter had been dealing with back issues even before his Paris 2024 campaign started.
"What EJ went through 10 days into the games was quite a shock," Lafferty explained in an online press conference on Wednesday. "He has had a recurring issue in the lumbar part of his spine. He's had some issues in the connective issues, which led to muscle spasming, pain, and the inability to vault.”
"This started two years ago, and he's had a denervation to the nerve that was causing all the issues. It allows him to compete and go on without any risk to his long-term health," he added.
It’s worth noting that Obiena had alluded to his injury in an earlier social media post before Paris 2024. However, Lafferty stated that publicly disclosing the injury would have further hindered the pole vaulter's preparations.
"Anything he says at that time goes right through his competition. Obviously, he doesn't want to disclose if you have a serious medical condition. To tell everything would be foolish because they are [competitors]," said Lafferty.
"The nerve does grow back, and unfortunately, it grew back at a rate where he's starting to feel everything again in 2024. This whole season has had great inconsistencies, [with EJ] having to take dates off and having to take medications," he added.
For his part, Obiena tried his best to downplay his injury but later admitted that it impacted his training.
"They cause spasms and inflammations, and this has been recurring this season. I was in the US when it started, I couldn't move right away after I jumped. Sometimes it relaxes, sometimes it does," said Obiena.
"We didn't know what is exactly causing it. Probably, if it was not the Olympics, I wouldn't do it, but it was the Olympics. You can feel it when you're walking. I can walk, I can jog a little bit, but when it's really bad, I can't really run. Vaulting was out of the picture," he added.
With just a short turnaround before the Olympics, Lafferty revealed that Obiena had to stop his training and fly to Italy for a procedure.
"Twelve days before the Olympics, it got so bad that he was unable to vault. He couldn't even run with a pole, so what we did was we searched for a doctor in France. The only thing we could do was pull out [from the Olympics] or have an injection of some type of cortisone to take out inflammation and the pain," he said.
"It's not just a simple procedure for a shot. It's done in a very delicate area where they can't hit a nerve, and they have to put it into the right position."
"What did we do? We put EJ on a plane to Italy. Over a 24-hour period, he left France, flew to Rome, met with doctors, had the procedure done, and then we put him back on a plane to France, and then had to take a 48-hour recovery from the shot. Only then did he start to gradually work his way back," he added.
Obiena admitted that the recent circumstances were difficult for him, both physically and emotionally, but he never wanted them to be an excuse for falling short of his goal.
"I don't think it hindered me to perform on the day of the Olympics. But if I'm analyzing it, it affected my consistency and my overall program for the Olympics,” said Obiena.
"I can promise you guys that I did everything that I can with all the circumstances I've dealt with. I'm definitely proud of what I've achieved, but that doesn't really lessen the disappointment and pain of coming in fourth," he emphasized.
For now, Obiena continues to prioritize his recovery before planning his next competitions for the rest of the year.
[NEXT: EJ Obiena keeps door open for 2028 LA Olympics, focuses first on keeping world no. 2 status]