The United States dominated the pole vault until Sergey Bubka came along. As a matter of fact, it was Bubka who encouraged Ernest John "EJ" Obiena to train at the World Pole Vault Center in Italy during his visit to the Philippines. The young Obiema met Vitaly Petrov, a former pole vaulter who coached Bubka and Yelena Isinbayeva. Obiema's fate was sealed after that meeting. It didn't take long for the Filipino to emerge as one of the best pole vaulters of the world.
Obiema suffered a major heartbreak after finishing fourth in the finals of the men's pole vault in the Paris Olympics. The Filipino tied with Emmanouil Karalis for third place, but the Greek clinched the bronze due to fewer attempts. Obiema's performance was a huge improvement from his placement in the Tokyo Olympics, where he placed 11th. But he was stung by missing the podium by a jump.
“I think just consistency overall. I missed one attempt. Sports is beautiful but also brutal. I understand that. [It’s the] consistency I’m lacking. I felt like I needed a little bit more time, but it’s the Olympics, it’s not going to wait for anybody. I’m just here doing everything that I can,” Obiema rued.
Obiema almost missed the final after having troubles in the preliminary
The preliminary of the men's pole vault saw the departure of big names in the event, the most notable was Chris Nilsen. The American won the silver medal in the 2020 Olympics. The qualifying event made a lot of buzz in social media after Anthony Ammirati's not-safe-from-work (NSFW) mishap in his qualifying attempt. Millions of social media users thought that it was a French pole vaulter's crotch that collided with the bar. But pole vault coach Branko Miric pointed out that another body of Miric's caused the bar's fall.
"He definitely hit the bar with his legs first and was going to miss that attempt anyway," Miric said. “When you’re pole vaulting, not only do you need the height, but you need the depth, You have to go deep enough to get over the bar. It’s very common in the vault, you’ll see people who look like they have the height, but they don’t have enough depth and they come down on it and the bar falls off.”
As for Obiema, he almost missed the cut during the early part of the qualifiers. Petrov thought about something else. It was a gamble.
“I was really trying to stay mentally relaxed and trust my coach because he made the call. I was thinking, ‘Are you sure? I missed my two attempts at 5.60m and you want me to go to 5.70m?’ I was like, ‘Are you sure?’ and he said, ‘Yeah! Move up the pole.’ Internally, I was like, ‘Why are you so calm? I’m stressed out right here!’” Obiema recalled.
The gamble paid off,as Obiema finished seventh in the preliminary round.
EJ Obiema was THE pole vaulter who made huge strides after the Tokyo Olympics, winning the bronze medal in the 2022 IAAF World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA and the silver in the 2023 IAAF World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. He also cleared a height of six meters, which would be a personal best. It was quite far from Armand Duplantis's personal best of 6.24 meters, which was a word record. He broke that record in Stade de France. And Obiema competed against another formidable foe.
Sam Kendricks is a two-time world champion in the pole vault, the latest American to excel in this field event. He didn't compete in the Tokyo Olympics because he was COVID positive (prior to the event). It shattered him. Kendricks relished competing against Duplantis, who grew up in Louisiana, USA, but representing Sweden, his mother's homeland. In fact, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden was on the stands, witnessing Duplantis defending his Olympic title and smashing his own world record.
Obiema admitted that he wasn't 100% ready as far as his physical form was concerned, but he took a lot of pain killers. The Olympics only happen every four years or three years separating the Tokyo Olympics from the Paris Olympics. His team thought he handled the pressure well. Some wondered if he made a mistake by starting at the height of 5.50 meters. Duplantis started at 5.70 meters. The Pinoy pole vaulter, one of the Top 6 in this event, could only watch Duplantis, Kendricks, and Karalis revel in Olympic glory.
Obiema will be 32 years of age when Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics. He's not too old for this event. Yet. Kendrick is 31 years of age at this moment. Duplantis will be 28 years of age, though. The Swedish-American sensation will attempt to win his third Olympic gold medal, a feat that Bubka hasn't done.
Obiema would take a well-deserved rest. And then he would discuss his future with his team, Petrov included. The Filipino pole vaulter has a good chance to remain on top, or be one of the best pole vaulters in the field, but he would need to surpass his personal best. A height of 6.10 meters should be his next goal.
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