All work, no play for E.J.

Pole vaulter E. J. Obiena was recalled to training camp in Formia, Italy, a day after clinching the gold medal with a leap of 5.45 meters in the Southeast Asian Games last week and never even relished the moment of setting a new record in the 11-nation conclave. Considering his personal best is 5.81 meters, Obiena’s performance was below par and like his Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov, he wasn’t happy about it.

Obiena’s lucky that he’s one of only two athletes now being trained by Petrov who lives in Formia. Petrov, 81, was the man responsible for the rise of countryman Sergey Bubka who won six consecutive IAAP world championships, the Olympic gold medal in 1988 and broke the world record 35 times. He’s in the record books as the first pole vaulter to clear 6.0 meters – a standard Obiena hasn’t reached. The other athlete under Petrov’s wing today is Brazil’s Thiago Braz da Silva who took the gold medal in pole vault at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a leap of 6.03 meters.

Obiena, 24, owes his ascent in the sport to Petrov and Da Silva. When IAAF cut back on its scholarship budget in 2017, Obiena was left to fend for himself. It was IAAF, through Bubka, who arranged for Obiena’s training in Formia for three years, three months at a time from 2014 to 2016. Worse, Obiena tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee, forcing his withdrawal from the SEA Games in 2017. Through sheer determination and hard work, Obiena recovered to compete in the 2018 Asian Games but could only finish seventh with a jump of 5.3.

“With help from family, friends, PSC, PATAFA and the Ayala Group, I continued my training in Formia,” he said. “I stayed with Thiago and to make myself useful, watered the plants and cleaned his place. I wouldn’t have survived without Thiago. I practically lived rent-free. Now, I live in a small flat. I’m totally dedicated to training. Formia is a rural city and it’s perfect for athletes in training. I do mix and match work in acrobatics, gymnastics, sprints, flexibility and weightlifting. I do two sessions a day, three to four hours each session so that’s six to eight hours of training a day.”

Formia isn’t exactly a typical Italian tourist destination. It’s on the coast of Lazio halfway between Rome and Naples with a population of about 40,000. The city is the home of the National Athletics School of the Italian Olympic Committee and where pole vault legend Guiseppe Gibilisco, another Petrov protégé, trained. The most famous monument of Formia is the Tomb of Cicero, a mausoleum so tourists aren’t inclined to visit. For Obiena, Formia’s a work station, not a vacation place.

Obiena is a year away from earning a degree in electrical engineering at UST. At the moment, his focus is the Olympics but he’s determined to eventually graduate. He’s one of only two Southeast Asians to qualify for the Olympics in athletics so far.    

It’s been a dream for Obiena to get to where he is. “My parents were athletes,” he said. “My father (Emerson) was a pole vaulter with the national team and took the silver at the 1995 SEA Games while my mother (Jeanette) was a hurdler at Centro Escolar. I was only 5-6 when I was a senior at Chiang Kai Shek high school so

I never tried out for basketball which I played just for fun. Then, at UST, I shot up to 6-2. My big break was meeting Bubka when he visited Manila. That led me to work with coach Vitaly. It’s a big sacrifice being away from home and family but it’s every athlete’s goal to bring honor to his country so I’m committed to do the best I can.”

PATAFA president Philip Juico said Obiena took a flight to Formia even before the SEA Games closing ceremony. “He left for Italy the day after he won gold to continue preparing for the Olympics,” said Juico. “Training was delayed because of preparing for and competing in the SEA Games.” PATAFA secretary-general Terry Capistrano said Petrov wanted Obiena back in camp right away. “E. J.’s a homegrown athlete from Tondo,” said Capistrano. “What he has achieved so far is amazing. For four days, Popoy and I stayed at New Clark City for the athletics competition in the SEA Games. Popoy’s dedication was very inspiring. Our performance in athletics was outstanding with 11 gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals plus we set four new SEA Games records. In women’s marathon, we had a 1-2 finish and the winner Christine Hallasgo, who joined the national pool only last July, upset our Olympian Mary Joy Tabal. There’s a lot to be proud of.”