MANILA — Pinoy World No. 4 pole vaulter EJ Obiena will compete in the Mondo Classic at the IFU Arena in Uppsala, Sweden, on Thursday, viewing the event as a preparation for the upcoming outdoor season, which kicks off in Xiamen, China, on April 26.
The Mondo Classic is an indoor event featuring top vaulters in a gala format, where the track is centrally placed in the stadium to give spectators an up-close experience with music and lights.
It’s the fourth edition of the competition, named after world No. 1 Mondo Duplantis, who aims to set new records in his home country. “I’m treating this as a tune-up. I feel fine, and my numbers are improving, but I haven’t shown them in competition yet,” Obiena said.
After recovering from a stress fracture in his spine, Obiena returned to action in January, aiming to qualify for the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Nanjing, China.
Despite participating in six competitions, he did not clear the 5.85m qualification mark. “I started indoors thinking I had time to be ready, but the qualification period began last September, and I had only three weeks to qualify,” Obiena explained.
His last attempt was in Estonia on February 22, where he cleared 5.65m, finishing first but falling short of the qualification mark.
“I hoped the result would be valid, but since we don’t have an indoor nationals and Europe’s circuit was halted, I couldn’t find any more competitions to join,” he said, expressing his exhaustion in seeking opportunities.
Obiena notes that vaulting indoors versus outdoors doesn’t present significant differences. “Indoors should be easier since there’s no wind or rain to manage, and ambiance doesn’t affect me,” he said.
He is now looking forward to starting his outdoor season at the Diamond League in Xiamen, where athletes compete for points across 14 series events. The league culminates in the two-day Final in Zurich on August 27-28, with gold medals in series events earning $10,000 and $30,000 for the champion in the final.
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