Obiena lays out blueprint for Tokyo

MANILA, Philippines — Olympic pole vault qualifier EJ Obiena took an afternoon flight out of Beijing yesterday after a 10-day training camp and will return to his Italian base in Formia to consult an osteopathic doctor regarding pain in his lower back before starting his run-up program for Tokyo.

Obiena arrived in Beijing with his Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov and Italian physiotherapist Francesco Viscusi last Jan. 5. Petrov was recently signed to work with China’s pole vaulters. Obiena’s parents joined him in the Chinese capital for two days.

“It’s freezing cold in Beijing,” said Obiena in an overseas phone interview. “I had to bike 15 minutes from my quarters to go to the training center. My parents brought my set of six poles from Manila. I’ll leave my poles in Beijing with Francesco since I’ll be back in China for the Asian Indoor Championships in Hangzhou on Feb. 12-13 and the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing on March 13-15.”

Petrov will stay in China until the World Championships then open the outdoor season in the US in April with Obiena and his other protégé, reigning Olympic gold medalist Thiago Braz da Silva of Brazil. Then, they relocate to Italy to begin the European outdoor season in May. It’ll be an early start for the outdoor season because the Olympics begin in July.

Obiena said he’s getting ready for a breakout podium finish in Nanjing. “The World Championships will set the tone for the Olympics,” he said. “I’m going for a medal. It’s an opportunity to size up the competition I’ll face in Tokyo. Coach Vitaly will be with me for both the Asian and World Championships in China.”

Obiena said he recently had an MRI taken of his back and sent it to orthopedic surgeon Dr. Andrew Taberrah for analysis in Manila. It was Dr. Taberrah who operated on Obiena for a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee in 2017. The MRI seemed to show that the bulge in his lower spine, specifically the L4-L5 segment, was caused by a tightness of the back muscles. “It may be the beginning of a herniated disc but not quite yet,” he said. “My back was irritated and I couldn’t move my hips the right way. I have an appointment to see an osteopath as soon I get to Formia. It’s possible that I’ll undergo therapy and a realignment of my bones. That would take at least 12 days before I can get back to training. I plan to arrive in China for the Asian Championships about two days before the competition. I’ll be done before jet lag kicks in.”

Obiena said Da Silva is skipping the indoor season to focus on the outdoor. But they’ll be working together in preparing for the Olympics. “We’ve got an indoor facility in Formia and we’ll keep each other company while coach Vitaly and Francesco are in China,” said Obiena. He’ll also work on extending his Schengen visa in Italy.

PATAFA president Philip Juico is closely monitoring Obiena’s preparations for Tokyo. He met with Obiena’s parents the other day to find out about training conditions in China. At the recent Southeast Asian Games, PATAFA brought in 11 gold medals with Obiena, 400-meter hurdler Eric Cray, 200-meter runner Kristina Knott and shot putter William Morrison leading the charge. Juico said he hopes there will be more Olympic qualifiers from athletics.

“Kristina is technically qualified because she’s ranked No. 55 and the top 56 make it,” said Juico. “With the limitation for each country, we expect Kristina to even go up higher. But we’d like Kristina to achieve the qualifying time just the same. Eric is No. 39 and I think there’s room for him to move up. William is another possibility.”