ITALY – Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena said he will be taking “one day at a time” whether to give Olympics another try in 2028 in Los Angeles, California.
This after the 28-year-old Obiena finished fourth in the men’s pole vault at the Paris Olympics despite a recurring back injury.
“I really am taking it one day at a time, seeing what exactly fuels my fire. The reason why I can’t give you guys the answer that you guys I think want to have is just that I don’t want to lie. I don’t want to go and say, yeah, we’re gunning right away, this and that,” Obiena said in a virtual press conference in Italy on Wednesday.
He admitted that the injury affected his preparation but “not on the competition day” as he improved his 11th finish in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
“We’ll see what’s next for me. For now, really try to get healthy. We’ll see how this season goes,” Obiena said.
Obiena’s manager, James Lafferty, said Obiena is not worried about his age by 2028 LA Olympics, adding that older pole vaulters have succeeded in the Games.
“For pole vault, 32 [years old] is still pretty young. Tim Mack won his first Olympic gold in Athens when he was already 33. Sam [Kendricks] is already 32, and he had his best finish just yet,” Lafferty said.
He said pole vault is such a complex sport that takes a lot of years perfecting the movement and believing and having that consistency and trusting yourself in all of these things.
“Obiena is prioritizing his recovery from a back injury before mapping out his career plans in the coming years, which includes possibly competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” Lafferty said.
Still, Lafferty commended Obiena, world’s No. 2, for his courage to compete despite his back injury.
“The fact that he competed, in my opinion, is amazing. The fact that he came in fourth is beyond amazing,” Lafferty said.
Obiena struggled right at the start of the qualifications after faulting his two attempts at 5.60 meters.
Obiena reached the finals and cleared 5.80 meters but could not complete the 5.95 meters and settled for fourth.
As expected, world no. 1 Armand Duplantis of Sweden defended his gold medal as he set new world and Olympic records by clearing 6.25 meters.
The United States’ Sam Kendricks took the silver medal while Greece Emmanouil Kaalis brought home the bronze medal. (with reports from Alona Cochon/PNA)