Getting ready to face pole vault king Armand Duplantis is something Ernest John “EJ” Obiena has been preparing for at the Paris Olympics athletics meet.
Now that he is in the finals, Obiena will be on the lookout for Duplantis and other competitors when the finals take place at 1 a.m. on Monday (Manila time) at the Stade de France.
“I need to recover and rest to be in the best shape for the finals. To the fans, thank you for holding on to your seats and for believing in me,” said Obiena.
Obiena expressed these sentiments on Saturday after clearing 5.75 meters in one attempt, securing one of the 12 spots in the finals.
All eyes will also be on Duplantis, who comfortably sailed through the qualifiers on Saturday alongside Obiena. As the defending champion, Duplantis is a clear favorite to win his second Olympic gold at the Paris Games.
“I really need to concentrate and focus. I did not show a lot of emotion. I normally stay calm and control myself. But when I made that jump, I just roared. I wanted to express what was bottled up inside. Normally, I don’t do that,” added Obiena about his qualification performance.
Obiena will have to block out what the 24-year-old Duplantis could do, having set the world record eight times, including breaking his own record in April in Xiamen with a 6.24-meter jump.
“It’s no coincidence that I’m a favorite. It’s the best feeling when you’re trying something new and need to do something better than you’ve ever done before,” said Duplantis.
Observers noted that the podium finishers might change after Tokyo silver medalist Christopher Nilsen surprisingly failed to qualify. Nilsen did not qualify after a third failed attempt at 5.60 meters, far off his personal best of 6.05 meters.
Another Tokyo medalist, Sam Kendricks, moved over 5.75 meters into the final, giving him a chance for redemption after pulling out of the Tokyo Games due to testing positive for COVID upon arrival three years ago.
“I had to make the finals. My three years were on the line. If I didn’t make it to the finals, it was on the line with that jump,” said Obiena, noting Nilsen’s fate and Kendricks’ return.
Obiena will also be looking out for Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who is seeking a podium finish after landing fourth in Tokyo. He won’t have to worry about France’s Thibaut Collet, who missed qualification after three failed attempts at 5.75 meters.
Also missing is Brazil’s Thiago Braz, who won bronze in Tokyo and gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Braz was banned in May by the Athletics Integrity Unit for testing positive for the prohibited substance ostarine glucuronide, a muscle growth enhancer.
Joining Obiena and Duplantis in the finals after clearing the same height are Sondre Guttormsen of Norway, Karalis, Turkish Ersu Sasma, Menno Vloon of the Netherlands, Sam Kendricks of the United States, and Bo Baehre of Germany. Oleg Zernickel of Germany and China’s Huang Bokal also made it to the finals with a similar 5.75-meter clearance.
Obiena initially failed his first two attempts at 5.60 meters during the qualification round. Following the advice of his coach Vitaly Petrov, Obiena skipped that height and proceeded to 5.70 meters. This strategic decision allowed him one last chance to qualify for the finals.
