The Philippines’ pole vaulting pride EJ Obiena is eager to shape the next generation with elite competitions locally.
For Philippine pole vault royalty EJ Obiena, the recently concluded Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge wasn’t just about a glorious homecoming.
Rather, it’s about paving the way for the next generation.
Already in the latter years of his pole vault career, Obiena is hoping that more and more competitions like the one he organized will bring big opportunities for the young and promising pole vault talents in the Philippines.
EJ Obiena and other top-level pole vaulters competed in a first-of-its-kind event in Makati City. | Photo: RM Chua / One Sports
With a lot of his contemporaries, like Germany’s Oleg Zernikel, having been exposed to competitions in their home countries, Obiena dreams of having the same opportunities for Filipinos.
“That's something I hope in the near future we could do.” Obiena said in a recent episode of the One Sports' Starting Lineup.
“It's expensive to host, but it's much more expensive in my opinion to send all our athletes in different competitions all over the world. With that, hosting one might sound a better investment,” he added.
Hokett De Los Santos was among competitors in the Day 2 competition of the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge. | Photo: RM Chua / One Sports
Dipping his toes in
Among the younger pole vaulters that Obiena is eager to invest in is his long-time national team teammate, Hokett De Los Santos.
Having competed in international competitions, the 29-year-old is happy to help take De Los Santos to the next level, especially with the World Pole Vault Challenge in Makati. Despite so-so results from his compatriot, Obiena believes that the whole experience will be helpful.
“That's the point. We wanted him to be tested.
We wanted him to feel like, okay, we're competing with the best of the world. How do I compete with these guys mentally? That idea is very daunting for someone like him. He probably would have shrunk a little bit and really fight his nerves,” said Obiena.
“But after that, whatever he did in the competition, he's going to be going out of it a better athlete because he knows how to deal with these kind of things, these nerves.”
For Obiena, growth was only achievable through competitions like the one he hosted.
Even if athletes are able to train at high-level facilities, not being able to apply them at a real competition will limit the lessons that pole vaulters can get.
But with investment in bringing top-level competitions, Obiena believes it will grow our athletes into world class competitors.
“That's something I really hope to provide because competition makes you learn things that you don't realize in training.” he said.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.