MANILA, Philippines – Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena stopped short of promising a podium finish in the 2024 Paris Olympics after a historic bronze medal in the World Athletics Championship in Eugene, Oregon last weekend.
With the Summer Games still a ways away, Obiena said that while he is eyeing a medal in Paris, there is still much to work for against a field of competitive pole vaulters.
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"I think that's a year and a half from now. I mean, that's the plan, that's definitely what I want to achieve. [But] you know, Mondo [Duplantis] is definitely something, a force to be respected and reckoned with and you know, Chris [Nilsen] is a competitor and everybody else in the field," Obiena told Philippine media in a press conference on Tuesday.
"So, if it's gonna be a medal that's sure, I can't say," he added.
Still, the 26-year-old admits there is much to be optimistic about after his performance in Worlds.
Obiena finished just behind Nilsen in Oregon, the American clinched silver in the Tokyo Summer Games last year.
And while Duplantis continues to be on a league of his own with a new world record of 6.21m, seemingly untouchable by the rest of the field, Obiena believes that he has what it takes to make it a competition with everybody else.
"Definitely. I think I just proved to myself what I've been saying that I can compete with these guys and I can win. So, hopefully, it will be the same case or even a better case in Paris," he said.
In Tokyo, Obiena finished a meager 11th place in the men's pole vault final.