EJ Obiena dreams of seeing more world-class pole vault tournaments at home

EJ Obiena has long been considered a world-class pole vault athlete, especially after winning multiple international titles that allowed him to take his place among the best of the best. 

The Filipino star hopes opportunities of competing in high-level competitions don't only come for him but for his fellow Pinoy athletes as well.

That's why through his determination and support of sponsors, the 29-year-old Obiena was able to stage a top-tier event on a local stage with the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge on Sunday. 

The world no. 7 Obiena duked it out against several top vaulters like world no. 5 Ersu Sasma of Turkey, no. 12 Thibaut Collet of France, and no. 15 Piotr Lisek.

Part of the field was the Philippines' very own Hokett Delos Santos as well. 

Obiena ultimately ruled the tournament after equalling a season-best 5.80 meters, beating Collet due to countback and giving the home crowd a huge victory. 

"I was a little bit worried with the rain. I'm really thankful all the Filipino people came. You know, it was drizzling. You know, I'm not used to competing at home," Obiena said. 

"This is the first meet, really. I would say, you know, this is such a unique experience. They definitely made it so much more than what I actually dreamed of."

Obiena said the event was a good exposure for his fellow Filipino and rising pole vaulter Delos Santos despite the latter's struggles to complete a clearance. 

The 22-year-old Delos Santos, who snagged the silver medal in the 2022 SEA Games, was the first on deck in the nine-player field, but he committed three faults in the opening height of 4.90 meters to bow out of the competition.

Still, Obiena lauded the efforts shown by the youngster. 

"You know, it's a really good opportunity for him. Even though the result didn't play out the way I believe he wanted," Obiena added.

"Filipinos, actually, lack, compared to these guys and all the guys here, is competition. We don't have this competition. This is the first. This is the biggest. This is way bigger than SEA Games, Asian Games. This is world class."

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Obiena now hopes to see Delos Santos and other aspiring pole vaulters to participate in top pole vault competitions right on home soil. 

"And speaking of future competitions such as this, I hope, I talked to the UAAP commissioner when I was in UST. I said, it would be nice to give our UAAP athletes an experience such as this," he added.

"The crowd banging on your ears and really having that atmosphere, you don't really get in the stadium. Hopefully, you know, we have a runway, we have the possibility, the capability as we have shown today to do such events."

"And hopefully, this is not the last."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News