EJ Obiena 2022 Archives
Continued from
Table of Contents
Obiena – Makes it 5 in a row PinoyAthletics Male Athlete of the Year
Dec 2, 2022
For the 5th Year in a row, Ernest John Obiena has secured the coveted PinoyAthletics Male Athlete of the Year award. The only sports award that matters is Phil Sports. Obiena had a stellar season. Which didn’t start too well at all for him with his association questioning his integrity over financial assistance given. Eventually, the COA Cleared EJ of any wrongdoing.
Despite the added stress, Obiena was able to capture the Bronze Medal at the World Championships in Athletics a feat never achieved before in the history of the Philippines’ participation in the world. He also ended the 17-in-a-row winning streak of Mondo Duplantis with a shocking win over the world record holder. Obiena also made it two in a row defending his SEA Games title aswell as breaking the Asian Record in the Pole Vault now with a PB of 5.94m. He is looking towards getting into the prestigious 6-meter club in 2023. Not bad at all for a tall skinny guy from Tondo! who continues to bring pride to the Philippines on the global stage.
EJ beat out the Great Eric Cray who has now had 5 SEA Games Golds in 400 Hurdles, Double SEA Games Shotput Champion William Morrison, Double SEA Games 110 Hurlder Clinton Kingsley Bautista, and Long Jumper Janry Ubas who is having a stellar season.
EJ Obiena Finally Beats Duplantis
09/02/2022
Belgium (AFP) – After suffering a rare defeat at Friday’s Diamond League match in Brussels, Armand “Mondo” Duplantis pledged to put any risk of complacency on hold.
At 5.91 meters, Duplantis failed three times, finally collapsing to the ground on his third failed attempt while staring in horrified disbelief.
Due to how dominant Duplantis had been in his event, EJ Obiena of the Philippines passed at the same height on the third attempt, leaving the Filipino likewise shaking his head in surprise.
The 22-year-old Swede, who was born in the US, had a stellar season, winning 17 contests, 14 of which he did with vaults over the six-meter mark. It was his first loss of the year.
Duplantis won those matches, winning the world indoor gold in Belgrade in March and the global outdoor gold in Oregon in July. Both were accomplished using world records for vaults, measuring 6.20 and 6.21 meters, respectively.
Come back stronger
Duplantis said he would aim to improve by the time of next week’s Diamond League finals in Zurich.
“In Zurich, I’ll try to come back a little stronger than here. I want to put up another good performance at the end of the year and end on a high.”
For very many meets, Duplantis has completely dominated his competition.
Waiting patiently to enter at a height that has normally seen a couple of rivals already out, the Swede makes sure of the victory and then goes to plus-6m before deciding whether to have another tilt at the world record.
Asian champion EJ Obiena, a bronze medallist at the Eugene worlds, has a personal best of 5.94m, which he vaulted in Oregon.
The Filipino ranked third on the world outdoor list for this season at that height, after Duplantis and American Chris Nilsen, who cleared 6m dead in May.
EJ Obiena made the most of his chance given that Duplantis’ three tries at it were unsuccessful.
Nilsen, who came in third, was not pleased.
“Third with 5.71m is all I can say. No one produced any good marks today except Ernest John with a first Diamond League win,” he said.
“Everyone is a little tired with the end of the season. I am ready to go to the Diamond League Final. In Zurich, the goal is a top three and 5.90m.
“If I make this I will shoot for 6m. I maybe need to do some speedwork because I felt kind of sluggish today.”
© 2022 AFP
Source:
https://www.rfi.fr/en/sports/20220902-duplantis-given-wake-up-call-as-obiena-steals-pole-vault-win
EJ Obiena Reinstated into National Team (August 19, 2022)
Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena and the Philippine Athletic Track and Field Association (Patafa) are back together.
Almost all Patafa board members voted in favor of EJ Obiena’s reinstatement to the national team, a welcome development.
Upon receiving the Patafa roster, the Philippine Sports Commission will formalize EJ Obiena’s return to the national team.
“We are thankful to the Patafa leadership for taking this step to solidify the strength of our national athletics team,’’ said PSC Officer-in-Charge and Commissioner Olivia “Bong’’ Coo.
A dispute between EJ Obiena and Patafa prompted by unliquidated expenses and unpaid Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov led to his exclusion from the national athletics team early this year.
The two parties reconciled in Vietnam after a lengthy mediation spearheaded by then-PSC Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez.
After placing third at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, EJ Obiena is the world’s third-ranked pole vaulter.
source: https://sports.inquirer.net/473861/ej-obiena-formally-reinstated-to-philippine-national-team
Profile:
- Born: 17th November 1995
- College: the University of Santo Tomas (previously Ateneo De Manila)
- Coach: Vitaly Petrov and Emerson Obiena
- Philippine Team 2014 Onwards
Ernest John Obiena is Filipino Pole Vaulter.
He holds all four significant national Pole Vault records.
He has broken the Philippine National Record 16 times. Also holds the National Record at 5.71m and the National Indoor Record at 5.40m.
Also holds the National Junior Record at 5.21m, and National Junior Indoor Record at 5.00m.
He also holds the Asian Athletics meet record and SEA and SEA Games Records.
Also, Ernest John Obiena is the first Filipino that has been given a scholarship from the International Athletic Association Federation (IAAF).
EJ Obiena Sporting career
EJ Obiena’s father, Emerson, serves as his coach. Also formerly served as the former Athletics national team member.
In early 2014, for three months, EJ Obiena, with his father, was allowed to train under coach Vitaly Petrov in Formia, Italy.
First of all, Vitaly had previously coached Sergey Bubka. As a result, on July 20, 2014, at the PATAFA weekly relays held at the PhilSports Football and Athletics Stadium.
Hence Ernest Obiena broke the national record for pole vault by registering 5.01 meters.
The previous record was 5.0 meters by Edward Lasquete at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Consequently, and also broke the junior national record since EJ Obiena at that time is 18 years old. At the same time, the previous description was 4.31, set three years ago.
Continued Improvement
Most noteworthy, he later broke his record several times in 2014 alone (5.05, 5.05, 5.15, 5.20, 5.21).
Hence by the time EJ Obiena became ineligible for the national junior record, the record was 5.21, which EJ Obiena set himself.
Therefore in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, EJ Obiena won a silver medal with a leap of 5.25 meters, his record.
Also, EJ Obiena won a gold medal in the 2016 Philippine National Games Finals in Lingayen, Pangasinan, after breaking a new personal record (5.47 meters).
While having problems with a broken pole.
Ernest Obiena set a new Filipino Record in Singapore Open 2015.
The Big Highlight came through when Obiena leaped 5.50m to capture the Philippines’ bronze medal at the Asian Championships.
The first medal to ever be won for the Philippines in the Pole Vault at the Asian level. At Leuvesken, Germany, he increased the Filipino record again to 5.61m.
This mark was just 9cm off the Olympic 5.70m qualifying mark.
EJ, who just missed out on the 2016 selection, will be 24 when the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo roar around.
Ernest Obiena Article
I am a filipino vaulter who has a dream to become a world class athlete. I am currently the National Indoor record holder and i have equalled the highest vault of a filipino which is 5.00 meters. I am aiming to qualify and join the World Juniors Championship this coming July in Eugene, Oregon
Hi! I am Ernest John Obiena, 18 years old. I am from Manila, Philippines. My Goal is to Qualify for the upcoming World Juniors Championship.
While under my father’s supervision, I cleared 5m in Nan-tou International Pole Vault Championship this year.
Also, I placed 7th out of 26 competitors, which came from Taiwan, Malaysia, the USA, China, Japan, Australia, and Thailand.
Consequently, my performance set a new record for the National Junior Indoor Record and National Men’s Indoor Record.
While my goal is to clear 5.05m officially before July 2014 to be the first homegrown Filipino to qualify and represent our country in the World Juniors Championship in Eugene, Oregon, USA.
We usually send “token athletes” to the World Junior Championship because we have not hit the qualifying standard yet.
Because my Record as of now is 5.00m, which is just 5cm (2”) of the standard set by the World Juniors Championship committee.
Also, I had been clearing this height at times during training.
Because I have to do it officially in an IAAF-recognized competition and clear 5.05 officially.
Hence From June 2013 up to the present, the only Track Oval with a pole vault facility (Pasig, Ultra) in metro Manila is not available for use.
Due to ongoing renovations.
Because of this, Pole Vaulting was able to continue and progress.
Furthermore, on January 12, 2014, I met the World Record Holder at my event, Mr. Sergey Bubka.
Mr. Bubka said I should apply for the IAAF’s Olympic B project for athletes like me.
Also, he encouraged my coach/father to learn more and continue my training after the program in Italy.
Hence with God’s blessing, I cleared 5m; I became eligible for the program and was offered a 90 days scholarship to train in Formia, Italy.
While unfortunately, my coach/father has to shoulder all his expenses in joining me.
Consequently, the IAAF program would be a big help for us to prepare for the upcoming World Juniors Championship.
And we can apply the additional knowledge we learned and help improve Pole Vaulting furthermore in our country.
I am also humbly asking for your generosity in helping us save money for my father/coach’s Plane Ticket, Accommodation, Food, and Transpo. Consequently, The total amount (7300) will cover the 90-day stay in Formia, Italy, under Vitaly Petrov, the coach of Mr. Sergey Bubka.
This opportunity is infrequent, and I am most grateful that it picked me to join this program. Also, this would help me accomplish my goal to represent my country in world-class competitions.
Thank you very much for reading.
EJ Obiena Press Conference
EJ Obiena Historic Bronze at World Championships
July 25, 2022
EJ Obiena Makes Final 12 at World Champs Oregon Mens Pole Vault (July 23)
Despite the setbacks and roadblocks. Ernest Obiena has made the Final 12 at the World Championships. Qualifying 3rd in Group B and 6th Overall to the final. 5.75m was the cut-off for the Top 12. Obiena is joined in the final by World Record Holder Armand Mondo Duplantis.
Obiena will be looking to improve on his 11th-place finish at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last year where he leaped 5.70m. The Final will be played on July 25 at 3:15 AM in the Philippines, while in the Oregon United States is 12:15 PM on July 24.
Results
| POS | Rank | Heat | BIB | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | A | 2409 | Christopher NILSEN | 5.75 q | |
| 1 | 1 | A | 2298 | Armand DUPLANTIS | 5.75 q | |
| 1 | 1 | B | 1931 | Oleg ZERNIKEL | 5.75 q | |
| 4 | 3 | A | 1603 | Thiago BRAZ | 5.75 q | |
| 5 | 2 | B | 1574 | Ben BROEDERS | 5.75 q | |
| 6 | 3 | B | 2213 | Ernest John OBIENA | 5.75 q | |
| 6 | 3 | B | 2328 | Ersu ŞAŞMA | 5.75 q | |
| 8 | 4 | A | 1836 | Renaud LAVILLENIE | 5.75 q | |
| 9 | 5 | A | 2192 | Pål Haugen LILLEFOSSE | 5.75 q | |
| 9 | 5 | A | 1911 | Bo Kanda LITA BAEHRE | 5.75 q | |
| 9 | 5 | B | 2188 | Sondre GUTTORMSEN | 5.75 q | |
| 9 | 5 | B | 2171 | Menno VLOON | 5.75 q | |
| 13 | 7 | A | 2164 | Rutger KOPPELAAR | 5.65 | |
| 14 | 8 | A | 2109 | Hussein Assem AL HIZAM | 5.65 SB | |
| 15 | 7 | B | 2187 | Simen GUTTORMSEN | 5.65 | |
| 15 | 7 | B | 2078 | Seito YAMAMOTO | 5.65 | |
| 17 | 9 | B | 2431 | Luke WINDER | 5.65 | |
| 18 | 9 | A | 1828 | Thibaut COLLET | 5.65 | |
| 19 | 10 | A | 2225 | Piotr LISEK | 5.50 | |
| 19 | 10 | A | 1863 | Harry COPPELL | 5.50 | |
| 19 | 10 | B | 1817 | Mikko PAAVOLA | 5.50 | |
| 22 | 12 | A | 1812 | Tommi HOLTTINEN | 5.50 =SB | |
| 22 | 12 | A | 1941 | Emmanouil KARALIS | 5.50 | |
| 24 | 14 | A | 1541 | Kurtis MARSCHALL | 5.50 | |
| 24 | 11 | B | 1672 | Bokai HUANG | 5.50 | |
| 24 | 11 | B | 2230 | Robert SOBERA | 5.50 | |
| 27 | 15 | A | 2278 | Robert RENNER | 5.50 | |
| 28 | 16 | A | 1516 | Germán CHIARAVIGLIO | 5.30 | |
| A | 1897 | Torben BLECH | NM | |||
| B | 1615 | Augusto DUTRA | NM | |||
| B | 1837 | Valentin LAVILLENIE | NM | |||
| B | 2387 | Andrew IRWIN | NM |
EJ OBIENA CLEARED AFTER 12 HOURS WITH US IMMIGRATION
July 17, 2022
EJ Obiena receives COA clearance
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena received clearance from the Commission on Audit (COA), thus officially settling the liquidation issue hurled by the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) against him.
“COA cleared me. [The letter was dated March 31 then I received] it a few days after, basically everything is in order,” the 26-year-old pole vault star announced the development on Wednesday, April 13 in an episode of Rappler Talk.
“As far as I’m concerned, all the paperwork that I submitted are in order.”
The COA clearance officially refuted PATAFA’s allegations that Obiena committed estafa, an accusation that turned into a much-publicized national sports issue and caused a wedge between the Olympian and his home federation.
“On a personal level, the Commission on Audit report is basically a closure for me. This pretty much made me whole. This shows that there were no ill intentions to commit any fraudulent documents,” said Obiena.
Obiena also explained that he agreed to the mediation initiated by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) last February 14 after he was given a platform to defend his side in the Senate.
The mediation resulted in the reconciliation between the pole vaulter and PATAFA. The national athletics federation then endorsed Obiena’s participation in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games and the World Athletics Outdoor Championships.
“I think the relationship between me and PATAFA has been reignited during mediation and I think that is something we should be working towards and I hope to definitely move forward from that,” said Obiena.
“The mediation is not about who is right or wrong, and the numbers on their reports. It’s more of like a reconciliation and definitely [rebuilding the relationship].”
Rift with PATAFA
The rift between EJ Obiena and PATAFA started in November 2021, when the national federation demanded the pole vaulter return 85,000 euros that were meant to be payments for his Ukrainian coach Vitaliy Petrov – virtually accusing the athlete of mismanagement of funds. (TIMELINE: Falling out with PATAFA mars EJ Obiena rise)
The world No. 5 pole vaulter vehemently denied the allegations, but PATAFA later accused Obiena of estafa and dropped him from the national team by January 2022. The Philippine Senate held a hearing on the issue as the PSC also offered mediation between the two parties.
Amid the drama, EJ Obiena missed out on competing in a world tournament. Due to the lack of endorsement from PATAFA, EJ Obiena failed to participate in the World Athletics Indoor Championship in Belgrade, Serbia even as the world-class pole vaulter had a strong shot at becoming the first Filipino medalist in the event. – Rappler.com
EJ Obiena Progression of National/Indoor/SEA/SEA Indoor/Asian Championship and Asian Records
By Andrew Pirie ATFS Vice President
EJ Obiena bounces back with a 5.81m win at the Orlen Copernicus Cup
Resilient Epic Victory at the Orlen Cup sees EJ Obiena qualify for World Championships.
International Pole Vault in Uppsala, Sweden February 9.
EJ Obiena 2022 Season Finishes 4th in Opener with 5.70m
Pole Vault Men
Ernest Obiena Performance Progress
Performance Event Placing Year
- 5.81m Pole Vault Meeting, Chiari GOLD 3 Sept 2019
- 5.76m Universiade Napoli GOLD 12 July 2019
- 5.71m Asian Championships, Doha GOLD 21 Apr 2019
- 5.61m Leuveksen, Germany 4th 27-Jul-17
- 5.55m Singapore Open 1st 19-Apr-16
- 5.50m National Open, Pasig 1st 9-Apr-16
- 5.47m PNG, Pasig 1st 14-Mar-16
- 5.40m Asian Indoor, Doha, Qatar 4th (National Indoor Record) 20-Feb-16
- 5.46m UAAP, Pasig 1st 18-Feb-16
- 5.45m Weekly Relays, Pasig 1st 27-Sep-15
- 5.40m Thailand Open, Rangsit 1st 7-Sep-15
- 5.30m International Busan June-15
- 5.25m Taipei Open, 2nd 15-May-15
- 5.21m Weekly Relays, Pasig 28-Apr-2014
- 5.20m Singapore Open, 2014
- 5.15m Weekly Relays, Pasig
- 5.10m Weekly Relays, Pasig
- 5.06m Weekly Relays, Pasig
- 5.05m Weekly Relays, Pasig
- 5.01m Weekly Relays, Pasig
- 5.00m Taipei indoor 7th 26-Mar-14 (Tied National Record)
- 4.95m Weekly Relay 1st Sept 28, 2013
- 4.90m Thailand Open 2nd Sept 3-6,2013
- 4.90m Hong Kong 1st June 29-30,2013
- 4.90m Singapore Track & Field series 1st Feb. 15-16, 2013
- 4.75m Singapore open 2nd June 15-16, 2013
- 4.54m PNG 1st May 28-June2, 2013
- 4.50m Uaap 1st Dec. 4, 2012
- 4.45m Weekly Relay 1st 24-Nov-12
- 4.42m FCAAF 1st February 16-17, 2012
- 4.41m MTaipei indoor 2nd March 27, 2012
- 4.31m FCAAF 1st April 4-5,2012
- 4.20m Weekly Relay 1st 2011
- 4.05m Asean School Singapore 7th July 1-7, 2011
- 3.70m Palarong Pambansa 2nd 27-Apr-11
- 4.00m Taipei indoor March 2011
- 3.20m Palarong Pambansa 2nd April 11-17, 2010
- 3.00m Nantou, 2009 (first international meet)
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“In 2020, Andrew advanced to the position of Vice President with the Association of Track and Field Statisticians, having devoted seven years as an active member. His impressive track record includes roles such as a PSC Consultant and Research Assistant (2013-2015) and a distinguished stint as a Sprint Coach and Consultant at the renowned Zamboanga Sports Academy (2015-2017). Today, he offers his expertise as a Consultant Coach with VMUF, starting from 2021.
A recognized voice in the sports community, Andrew is the Chief Editor of Pinoyathletics.info. Additionally, his consultancy contributions to Ayala Corp in evaluating their Track and Field Program underline his deep domain knowledge.
Proficient in coaching sprints, middle-distance races, and jump events, Andrew boasts a Level 3 Athletics Australia Coaching Certification, specializing in Sprints and Hurdles. He is also on a progressive journey towards obtaining a Masters Degree in Education.
For further insights or inquiries, connect with Andrew at pinoyathletics@gmail.com. For detailed coaching resources and Andrew’s methodology, visit Pinoyathletics Coaching.”
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