EJ Obiena is a cinch to make the Asian Games podium in China. —PHOTO BY TEAM PHILIPPINES
The year before EJ Obiena was born, Elma Muros-Posadas won a bronze medal in the Hiroshima Asian Games. That was the last time the country reached the podium in athletics in the continental meet.
The last time the Philippines won a gold? Obiena wasn’t even born yet.
The world No. 3 pole vaulter can end both droughts in the coming Asian Games in China.
“EJ will definitely compete in the Asian Games, that’s one medal he doesn’t have yet,’’ said track and field association (Patafa) chief Terry Capistrano.
Obiena will lead what could be a huge delegation for the Philippines in Hangzhou, where the athletics star hopes to deliver the country’s first gold medal since the late Lydia de Vega-Mercado’s triumph in the centerpiece 100-meter (m) race in the 1986 Seoul edition.
The bid is not far-fetched. Obiena is a strong favorite to top the Asian Games owing to his past performances, underlined by an Asian record-shattering 5.94m jump in a bronze-medal effort at the World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon last year.
Loophole
In China, the Patafa will look to build a young and promising squad, hoping to take advantage of a rare meet loophole.
“We’re looking at sending within the vicinity of 20 to 25 athletes and 10 coaches. This is the last Asian Games that there won’t be any qualifying and since it’s open and we have a pool of young athletes,’’ Capistrano said.
“We might as well take advantage,” he added.
Capistrano revealed that they’ve already come up with a list based on the team’s medal output in the recent Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, but nothing has been cast in stone yet.
Filipino tracksters pocketed four gold medals, 10 silvers and eight bronzes from the SEA Games and the Patafa has adopted the initial gold-silver criteria set by the Philippine Olympic Committee in selecting the athletes for the Asiad slated on Sept. 23 to Oct. 8.
The Italy-based Obiena ruled his event and reset his own SEA Games record to 5.65m.
Eric Cray retained his 400m hurdles title for the sixth consecutive edition of the Games in Cambodia while the quartet of Umajesty Williams, Michael del Prado, Frederick Ramirez and Joyme Sequita struck gold in the men’s 4x400m relay.
“Right now, we have a long list for the Asian Games, but we will prune it down. We still have a few competitions left before the Asian Games. From there, we can pick athletes who are ready,’’ said Capistrano, a former track and field athlete. INQ