MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) top brass Philip Ella Juico has high hopes for Tokyo-bound EJ Obiena.
Already having envisioned Obiena with an Olympic medal in his mind, Juico hopes it becomes into reality when the postponed Summer Games unfurl later this year.
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"Our target for EJ is a podium finish, preferably gold," quipped Juico during the online Philippine Sportswriters Association forum on Tuesday.
"But we don't want to put pressure on him," he continued.
The Athletics chief believes that Obiena is on the right path of meeting their goal, with the 25-year-old's recent performances in competitions abroad as the Tokyo Games approach.
Obiena recently reset the national record thrice just this year in three different competitions in Europe.
Most recently, he smashed his own national record by clearing 5.86 meters in a silver-medal performance during the Orlen Indoor Cup in Poland
This was preceded by two gold medal performances in Berlin.
Apart from Obiena, PATAFA hopes two more of their athletes in Kristina Knott and Eric Cray also achieve deep runs in Tokyo.
"For KK (Knot) and Cray, the target is to get to the finals and from there anything can happen," said Juico.
Knot and Cray have not yet officially qualified for the Summer Games, but are expected to secure spots before the qualifying deadline at the end of June.
Obiena, for his part, will compete in another tournament in Poland this Thursday as part of his build up for Tokyo.
Obiena is joined by gymnast Carlos Yulo, and pugs Eumir Marcial and Irish Magno as the initial Philippine contingent in the Olympics.