EJ Obiena Admits Disappointment, But Vows To Bounce Back From Olympic Loss

EJ Obiena admitted that he was upset and disappointed after he failed to secure a medal for the Philippines in pole vault during the Olympic finals on Tuesday, Aug. 3, in Tokyo, Japan.

Obiena was not able to clear 5.80 meters even as he was allowed a fourth attempt following his complaint that he could not possibly jump while the bar was moving.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday night, Aug. 4, Obiena lamented that his goal to win a medal for the Philippines was not achieved. “I hold myself to high standards. I am thus, understandably upset, disappointed, and reflecting so I can learn and improve myself.”

Obiena stressed he did not come to Tokyo just to experience the Olympics and make it to the finals. “I came to win a medal for my country.”

“I still love the sport of pole vaulting.  I still love representing my great country.  I still love competing. I still know I can win. You can draw your own conclusions from this. I will be back, and I will be back to win. But I want some time to digest the events of the past week, and especially the past 24 hours,” Obiena said.

But he added the 2024 Paris Olympics is not yet on his mind. He clarified reports quoting him as saying that he was unsure or not keen to participate in the next Olympics.

"I am not thinking about 2024 right now. I am thinking about yesterday and gleaning all the learnings I can so I come back better," he said, referring to Tuesday’s event.

“As I am still digesting what happened… I ask I be given time to adequately reflect and learn,” he added.

After he missed out on a podium finish, Obiena said on Tuesday that he struggled mentally than physically during the game.

“It is what it is. I guess that’s the best phrase to describe what happened here right now. It’s clearly not my best day. I don’t really know what happened. I think it's more mental than physical,” Obiena said in an interview with One News’ Gretchen Ho.

“You know, I really want to win this stuff. There's something off in my… I don't know what it is,” he confessed. “As I said, I think it's more mental. I cannot say it's pressure or whatever. It is on me. It hit me differently.”

The Filipino Olympian said he needs to regroup himself and take a break to think what’s next for him. “We will see. We will talk. I think in the next few weeks, days, I will know what I’m gonna do.”

“I don’t know... I love the sport, just a little bit right now I don’t love it that much,” he commented.

Mental struggles

Prior to the most-awaited tournament of the year, Obiena had confessed that aside from his training, his mental health also got affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview with Ho last June, Obiena said it became more challenging for many athletes like him to train during these trying times as it made them feel even more isolated and alone.

“Training-wise, I love training. I love pole vaulting. There are days that I don't want to train, I don't want to go to the track. It's a normal thing that every athlete feels,” Obiena said.

But the hard part, according to Obiena, is being far from family when COVID-19 hit the world. “[You feel] even more isolated. You feel alone (during) certain times.”

“When I feel alone, I get angry. So I had my psychologist [and] she explained… anger is an emotion (and) it's not something that just comes up, alone,” he shared.

“You can't be angry without having another emotion, so maybe you should focus more on that and, you know, try to get a handle of it,” he explained.

What did Obiena do? The pride of Tondo, Manila disclosed that he strived to distract himself by doing different “weird” things such as drawing animals like wolves and horses.

“I tried to distract myself that's why I draw as well, so I just use that to channel whatever I'm feeling. [I draw] mostly animals like [a] wolf. I like really drawing wolf,” he said.

“Yeah, I try to find ways to do things and [learn] new things. Definitely [it] feels good,” he added.

The Filipino Olympian realized that for him to be happy, he had to find something to celebrate that could change his mood and cope.

“When you're outside of the country and you see how things are going, it’s not easy to kind of just be happy, coming from a guy who knows how to feel sad and lonely,” he noted.

He said he is hoping that sports can come back soon, especially in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and finally be active again so student-athletes will “be able to perform and be able to enjoy the camaraderie of sports.”

“It's not an easy thing to stay motivated. It's not easy to stay fit and stay training for a student-athlete. We are really hoping that sports can come back soon,” he said.

Love-hate relationship with pole vaulting

The 25-year-old athlete said he has been exposed to pole vaulting since he was six years old because of the influence of his father, Emerson Obiena, who is also a pole vaulter. His father served as his coach until he was 18 years old.

“My papa and my first coach. He started my journey to the Olympics and is beside me while I fought for country’s glory,” Obiena said on July 31 in a Facebook post with a photo of him being reunited with his father after a year and a half in Europe preparing for the Olympics.

“He represented [the] Philippines in the Southeast Asian Games. He won a couple of medals. My mom was a hurdler. She did it for college and my sister's actually a national record-holder as well in a pole vaulting event. So, we're a family of athletes,” he said in an interview with ABS-CBN Sports in October 2019.

At a very young age, Obiena said he got interested in pole vaulting as he finds it as a “fun thing” to do and that he wants to imitate and feel “that feeling of free fall.”

Pole vaulting, for Obiena, is a love-hate relationship as it is a bed of roses but “you stick to it and you get better.”

Career opportunities

In 2014, at the age of 18, the Filipino athlete’s life changed when he was able to meet Ukrainian pole vaulter, Sergey Bubka, who was visiting the Philippines.

According to Obiena, he was supposed to get an autograph from Bubka only, but he was able to learn about an opportunity to train abroad in the process. He was offered a three-month scholarship in the World Pole Vault Training Center in Formia, Italy.

“I was supposed to be in and out (in) maybe five to 10 minutes. It ended up like maybe three, four hours of just talking about the sport that we both love,” Obiena said in an interview with NCAA Philippines aired July 28.

He said Bubka opened the door for him to know pole vaulting internationally. “He nurtured and he found a way to guide me and put me into the good hands of [the] like coach right now, which is Vitaly Petrov.”

Obiena described Petrov as an “amazing and great coach” and could see him as his mentor and second father figure. “He actually helps me and funds my accommodation here in Italy, because he saw potential in me.”

“I'm very thankful for my coach who put me to where I'm at. I do believe I can win gold, and that's how I approach every competition, I go in, I want to win,” he said.

In 2019 alone, Obiena won gold medals in Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar; Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines; and Summer Universiade in Naples, Italy. He also won a silver medal in the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.

Obiena, the first Filipino athlete to clinch a spot in the Tokyo Olympics, tied with Bo Kanda Baehre of Germany for the 11th place.

Armand Duplantis of Sweden won the gold medal, Christopher Nilsen of the United States bagged the silver, and Thiago Braz of Brazil settled for the bronze.