Ernest John “EJ” Obiena will be wielding new and better sticks when he trains for and competes in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
New sets of poles which have been ordered for him by the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association and its president Terry Capistrano have arrived Saturday night in Italy.
They are now in Obiena’s hands at the Formia, Italy training center, where the world no. 2 pole vaulter is currently based.
The new sticks will have their baptism of fire when Obiena competes next at a meet in Bydgoszcz, Poland on June 20.
After making the trip by plane from the United States to Europe, the poles were personally transported by car, closely watched by volunteers who are also pole vaulters themselves
“He is checking them (poles) now. Always a risk they can be mishandled in the cargo area,” said Obiena’s top supporter, James Lafferty.
As of now, Obiena, who has held the world no. 2 spot over the last eight months, has seen his world ranking points move closer to those held by world no. 1 Armand Duplantis.
Capistrano decided to acquire new pole equipment for him when he began breaking the poles he owned during competition and in practice.
Obiena first broke his pole during competition in the 2024 Ostrava Golden Spike – World Athletics Continental Tour Gold in Ostrava, Czech Republic, where he placed seventh.
The 27-year-old top Asian pole vaulter broke his second pole during practice, forcing him to borrow two poles as he settled for a bronze medal at the Diamond League – Oslo Bislett Games in Norway.
Obiena again used borrowed sticks to land seventh place last week at the Diamond League’s Bauhaus-Galan leg in Stockholm, where he cleared 5.70 meters.
