Tokyo Olympics-bound pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena won’t be around to see action in the Ayala Philippine Athletics Championships in New Clark City early next year.
The 24-year-old Obiena will instead focus his energy preparing for the indoor season in Europe this February.
After that, joining the outdoor season from March until July will help him stay sharp and in shape for the Olympiad.
For the last two years, the 6’2” Obiena had been training in Formia, Italy for the Olympics.
“He is about to start his foundation training for the indoor season in February. Then, he moves on to the outdoors. And that’s all the way up to July,” said Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico.
Juico talked about Obiena and the ongoing preparation of national athletes here and abroad during yesterday’s weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Zoom.
Obiena’s last outing was during the Diamond League in Rome last September, when he bagged the bronze.
Juico said sprinters Kristina Knott, shotput specialist William Morrison and women’s pole vaulter Natalie Uy continue to stay in shape and will be joining more outdoor meets that will help them qualify for the Olympiad.
The National Open is set to be staged on March 19 to 21, 2021 at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium, with the support of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the Philippine Sports Commission.
It was originally set for December, but the PATAFA was unable to get the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
A bubble training camp was supposed to begin in early November, but this has also been moved to Jan. 16 at the NCC Stadium’s warmup tracks, and in the nearby Athletes’ Village.