Sa puntiryang tiket sa Rio games, ‘Di bababa sa 6 na torneo ang lalahukan ni Obiena

MANILA, Philippines – Palalakasin ni Filipino Olympics aspirant EJ O­biena ang kanyang tsansa sa 2016 Olympic Games sa Rio de Janeiro, Brazil sa pamamagitan ng paglahok sa apat hanggang anim na torneo sa susunod na tatlong buwan.

Target ni Obiena na makapaghagis ng 5.70 meters para sa Entry Standard sa 2016 Rio Olympics.

“EJ’s performance has progressed remarkably under the guidance of Petrov,” sabi ni athletics association president Philip Ella Juico sa 20-anyos na si Obiena na nagsasanay sa ilalim ni pole vault coach Vitaly Petrov.

Kasalukuyang nag-eensayo si Obiena sa Olympic Centre sa Spala, Poland at matatapos sa Jan. 19.

Kasama ang kanyang father-coach na si Eme­r­son, hinahasa pa ni Obie­na ang kanyang talento sa tulong ni Petrov, na­ging trainer nina pole vault greats Sergey Bubka at Ye­lena Isinbayeva.

“Coach Petrov decided to train EJ in the Spala indoor facility since the runway in Formia is not long enough for EJ to do his long approach run as he continues to grow and gain needed weight. In fact the pole that EJ uses now, as befits his height and weight and progression, is heavier and stiffer,” wika ni Juico.

Bumato si Obiena ng 5.0 meters at napaganda ito sa 5.25 meters sa paggiya ni Petrov para sa kanyang silver medal sa nakaraang 28th Southeast Asian Games.

“He has been kept active by the PATAFA weekly relays sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission. His best performance do date which is the Philippine record established during the Weekly Relays in September 2015 is  5.45 meters,” sabi pa ni Juico.

Nakatakdang lumahok si Obiena sa 7th Asian Indoor Athletics Cham­pionships sa ultra-modern Aspire Dome sa Doha, Qatar sa Feb. 19-21.