After ‘climbing mountain,’ EJ Obiena ready for title defense

EJ Obiena will carry the flag in the opening ceremonies of the SEA Games. — PHOTO COURTESY OF ORLEN COPERNICUS CUP

At times, EJ Obiena would keep things simple when describing his stint in the coming Southeast Asian Games.

He’s there to win the gold. Period.

“It’s a shame if I’m raising the flag in the opening ceremony and I lose right?” he said in a virtual presser hosted by Summit Water on Tuesday.

“There’s indeed pressure, but we live for that. That’s fuel. That’s a driving force in each day of hard training that’s happening. So I welcome it,” he added.

At times, though, he would also wax philosophical.

Asked about the hardships he went through, which in recent months centered on his rift with his mother federation, he said: “It’s like climbing a mountain, the view, of course, would be amazing. But if you didn’t struggle, it’s not as important, as historic, as amazing as it would be. I just don’t want to think about those struggles. Those are in the past and had closure. Those are already at the back.”

Obiena and the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association have smoked the peace pipe already, allowing the University of Santo Tomas product to focus on competition—which, judging from his credentials, should be easy pickings.

The world No. 5 in men’s pole vault holds the Asian record in the sport and should be a man among boys in the regional meet slated in Vietnam in May.

“Still, [it’s a potential] medal for the country, and a chance to represent the Philippines in a competition,” Obiena said. “I’m still the defending champion, so there’s a bit of you know ‘I’m defending that’ and then the Philippines is defending [its] overall championship, so there’s that, too.”

“It might not be the Olympics, but it is important. It’s very crucial for me to deliver in this competition. So I’m looking forward to it,” he added.

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Inquirer’s special coverage of the Hanoi SEA Games 2021.