EJ OBIENA CONTEMPLATES 2028 OLYMPICS AFTER PARIS PERFORMANCE

MANILA — Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena is taking “one day at a time” in deciding whether to pursue another Olympic bid in 2028, following his fourth-place finish at the Paris Olympics despite battling a recurring back injury.

Obiena, 28, reflected on his performance in a virtual press conference in Italy. “I am taking it one day at a time, seeing what exactly fuels my fire. The reason why I can’t give you guys the answer that you guys I think want to have is just that I don’t want to lie. I don’t want to go and say, yeah, we’re gunning right away, this and that,” he said.

Although his injury hampered his preparation, Obiena improved from his 11th-place finish at the Tokyo 2020 Games. “We’ll see what’s next for me. For now, try to get healthy. We’ll see how this season goes,” he added.

Obiena’s manager, James Lafferty, is optimistic about his athlete’s future, noting that age will not be a significant barrier. “For pole vault, 32 [years old] is still pretty young. Tim Mack won his first Olympic gold in Athens when he was already 33. Sam [Kendricks] is already 32, and he had his best finish just yet,” Lafferty explained.

Lafferty emphasized the complexity of pole vaulting, requiring years to perfect the technique and build consistency. “Obiena is prioritizing his recovery from a back injury before mapping out his career plans in the coming years, which includes possibly competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” he said.

Despite his injury, Lafferty commended Obiena for his resilience. “The fact that he competed, in my opinion, is amazing. The fact that he came in fourth is beyond amazing,” he stated.

Obiena faced challenges from the start, faulting twice at 5.60 meters during qualifications. He reached the finals and cleared 5.80 meters but couldn’t surpass 5.95 meters, resulting in a fourth-place finish.

World No. 1 Armand Duplantis of Sweden defended his gold medal, setting new world and Olympic records by clearing 6.25 meters. The United States’ Sam Kendricks took the silver, and Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis secured the bronze.

(ia/mnm)