Obiena cries foul over doping accusation

MANILA, Philippines – Asian pole vault king EJ Obiena slammed accusations made against him by the wife of a fellow competitor, who claimed the Filipino star is using performance-enhancing drugs.

Anais Lavillenie, wife of London 2012 Olympics pole vault gold medalist Renaud Lavillenie of France, made the comment in reaction to a Facebook post by Vaulter Magazine-Vaulter Club Inc., which reposted a local news story on Obiena about how confident he is for Paris 2024.

“Obiena doped and it’ll fail like Braz…Same Coach. Same Plan. Same Objective!” Lavillenie posted, also name-dropping Obiena’s fellow pole vaulter Thiago Braz, who won the gold medal in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Braz tested positive for doping by the Athletics Integrity Unit and was already suspended July this year.

Obiena, the World No. 2 pole vaulter behind perennial champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden, didn’t take Anais Lavillenie’s comment lightly.

The recent Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalist also took to Facebook to express dismay over the accusation, saying his camp is mulling to take legal action.

“I want to remain classy and dignified on this subject. All I will say is I am disappointed, angry and feel wronged by these statements. I will let the story evolve while my team explores the many angles including legal,” said Obiena. 

“I guess this is part of the price you pay when you win.”