Obiena vaccination plans on hold

MANILA, Philippines — Tokyo Olympics-bound pole-vaulter EJ Obiena might defer plans of getting COVID-19 vaccination for fear it may affect his training with the quadrennial event just over a month away.

“Training program niya, naka-place na. As much as possible, they want to follow progression to Olympics and based sa pagtatanong sa ibang atleta na nakapagpa-vaccine na, eh may reactions dun na minsan umaabot ng 10 days at hindi maganda pakiramdam ng atleta,” said Obiena’s father, Emerson, during yesterday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.

“Sa ngayon, di pa sila makapag-confirm kung magpapa-vaccine o hindi kasi malaking effect sa preparation yung 10 days na yun. Deferred muna vaccine at pinag-aaralan kung meron pang time, kung pwede pa maisingit,” he added.

The older Obiena, a 1995 Southeast Asian Games pole-vault silver medalist, said his son has made significant strides after setting a new national outdoor record of 5.85 meters in a gold medal effort in the “Jump and Fly” in Mossingen, Germany last Saturday.

Meanwhile, Filipino golfing ace Juvic Pagunsan is bent on choosing the Tokyo Olympics over the British Open if he is left to choose.

National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) secretary-general Bones Floro yesterday said Pagunsan, who topped the Japan Tour’s Mizuno Open last month to earn a direct ticket to The Open, is wary of the possibility of contracting COVID-19 before the Summer Games and losing his precious slot to the Olympics.

“Juvic is much more interested in representing the country in the Olympics so one of the thoughts in his head right now is that if he goes to London, na hotspot si UK for COVID-19, medyo worried si Juvic if he does that, just in case malasin, baka mawala pa opportunity niya to represent the country in the Olympics,” said Floro during the same forum.

The British Open is set July 11-18 in London, and men’s Olympic golf takes place July 29 to Aug. 1 in Tokyo.