MANILA, Philippines – EJ Obiena will be taking time to reassess his future in the sport of pole vaulting after his debut stint in the Tokyo Olympics ended Tuesday.
Missing out on the podium after seemingly struggling throughout his campaign, Obiena said he's holding off on making any plans for the future as of now.
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PARIS 2024?
“I don’t know.. that’s the thing. I love the sport, just a little bit right now I don’t love it that much. It’s like we have this fight.”
EJ Obiena says he needs to regroup himself, take a break, and in the next few weeks he’ll know if #Paris2024 is in the cards. pic.twitter.com/ps0qJcA1Zg— Gretchen Ho (@gretchenho) August 4, 2021
"I need to regroup, I need to think [of] what I wanna do... I love the sport, just a little bit right now I don't love it that much," admitted Obiena in an interview with Cignal TV's Gretchen Ho after the final.
"It's like we have this fight," he quipped of his relationship with pole vaulting.
Obiena ended up at joint 11th place in the event ruled by world record holder Mondo Duplantis of Sweden.
He struggled to get things going in the final, failing to clear the 5.80m despite his personal best being 5.87m.
Keeping these things in mind, Obiena will be taking his time thinking about what to do next — and assess whether trying to qualify for the Paris Olympics in 2024 is a viable option.
"We'll see... I think in the next few weeks, I'll know, maybe a few days, I'll know what I want to do," he said.