Doping a big no-no, says Obiena

MANILA, Philippines --  Asian Games gold medalist EJ Obiena insists doping has no place in sports.

Obiena, who is accused of doping by Anais Lavillenie, the wife of French Olympic gold medalist Renaud Lavillenie, said this at a press conference Thursday.

For the Filipino pole vaulter, doping should never be done by athletes.

“I don’t think there is space in the sport for doping. All athletes get one chance to be an elite athlete and if you’re robbed of a moment, a split moment of that, you can never get it back,” the Olympian told reporters.

“I’ve been quite lucky to have competed and not be robbed of an opportunity due to a competitor being doped,” he added.

However, Obiena went back to the time when he was not able to get into the World Athletics Indoor Championship last year after failing to get an endorsement from the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association due to their row.

“It hurts and I can’t get that time back. I don’t know if I would ever get a chance again to compete at that level that I could,” Obiena said.

“Therefore I believe that doping should never have space in this sport. The definition of sport should not even entertain doping.”

Obiena and his camp on Thursday released polygraph and EyeDetect test results, which showed him being truthful on questions about doping.

Because he has not been flagged by the World Anti-Doping Agency in the 34 times he was tested for banned substances, his camp opted to have a polygraph test and the “next-generation lie detector test.”

Here, the EyeDetect report showed that he had a “credible” Converus credibility score of 80 for doping and 99 for match fixing, which indicates “unlikely involvement or participation.”

Obiena, meanwhile, said he aims to join two indoor tilts, the World Championship and two outdoor competitions, before the Paris Olympics next year.

He is currently the No. 2 pole vaulter in the world, just behind Sweden’s Armand Duplantis and ahead of American Christopher Nilsen.