Obiena a sure gold in SEA Games

EJ Obiena has broken the national record 14 times and, at 21, looks very capable of raising the bar well beyond the 5.55 meters he achieved in a recent athletics meet in Singapore (photo).

Ernest John Obiena is steadily making progress toward the 5.70-meter world standard in men’s pole vault.

Athletics chief Philip Ella Juico said the 6-foot-2, second-generation pole vaulter cleared 5.50m to earn a silver medal in the recent International Athletic Meeting in Velenje, Slovenia.

“With his recent 5.50m performance, EJ is now the runaway favorite to win the pole vault gold medal in the upcoming SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur,” said Juico. The SEA record stands at 5.30m.

Obiena has been training for six months prior to the Aug. 19-30 KL Games at the IAAF Pole Vault Training Center in Fornia, Italy under legendary Ukranian coach Vitaly Petrov with Olympic gold medalist Thiago Braz as training partner.

Meanwhile, one-third of the Philippine track and field team is now training at the Hong Kong Sports Institute headed by American consultant coach Rohsaan Griffin.

The team mostly made remarkable performances in the recently concluded Hong Kong Intercity Track and Field Championships.

“Based on their performances, I’d say the team’s general path is on an upswing. These guys work so hard and are so focused to sustain their gains up to the SEA Games,” said Griffin. The national squad will be back in the country on July 19.