EJ Obiena, Filipino vaulter’s successful year; what’s next?

With multiple international medals under his belt, Filipino vaulter EJ Obiena caps off another great year in his athletic career.

A review of his journey from 2023

EJ Obiena is undoubtedly one of the best vaulters in the world, alongside Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis. He began his journey in May at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, where he successfully cleared 5.65 meters to set a new competition record in addition to successfully defending his gold medal.

He then followed this up with a historic victory at the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway in June, where he became the first Asian pole vaulter to clear the six-meter mark en route to winning the event.

At the BAUHAUS-galan in Stockholm, Sweden, Obiena was able to clinch silver and meet the qualifying benchmark of 5.82 meters for the Paris Olympics berth.

In Budapest, Hungary, the following month, Obiena made history by winning the silver medal at the World Athletics Championships and breaking the six-meter barrier for the second time in his career.

In the Zurich leg of the Diamond League, however, Obiena showed signs of fatigue and fell to 10th place.

Obiena overcame this setback, though, and continued competing in Germany, the diamond league’s Brussels leg, and the Prefontaine Classic, where he took home gold, bronze, and silver medals, respectively.

To end his phenomenal season, Obiena competed in the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games, where he cleared 5.9 meters and took home the gold.

What a way to conclude this amazing season.

Jumping in front of a thunderous-synchronized claps 👏🏻 of 80,000 people in a breathtakingly beautiful Hangzhou Stadium was more than enough to blow my mind 🤯 and unquestionably register a core memory🧠. pic.twitter.com/mSSh1QOCt0

— EJ Obiena (@ejobienapv) October 2, 2023

What’s next for Obiena?

After his back-to-back wins this season, Obiena is now gearing up for another hectic year, especially with the Olympics coming up in July.

In an interview, the 27-year-old expressed that his team will be very precise in their approach and that discipline will be a key factor in their success.

Obiena added that his preparations are going to be planned all throughout, and although it’s not going to be an easy task, he’s up for it.

On December 3, Obiena posted on his X account, updating his fans that he had begun his first training camp for the Olympic season.

SO IT BEGINS!!!

Olympic season's first training camp has officially started#ayalaland #vermosa pic.twitter.com/SWUMomBiMF

— EJ Obiena (@ejobienapv) December 2, 2023

Recently, Obiena also posted a snippet of his point of view during practice.

A lil POV for y’all #parasabayan #puma #allianz #ayalaland #summitdrinkingwater #visa #milo #puregold #rebiscoextreme #porschedesign #alaganglourdes

PS: Didn’t break my👃nose this time 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/xN0d9DQCTa

— EJ Obiena (@ejobienapv) December 21, 2023