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Philippines' Ernest John Obiena competes in the men's pole vault city event part of the "Athletissima" Diamond League athletics meeting in Lausanne on August 21, 2024.
(Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Olympic pole vaulter EJ Obiena will be missing the World Indoor Championships this year, he announced on Tuesday night.
Obiena, who was sidelined for months due to a back injury, returned to competition in January.
And with the indoor championship set later this month, Obiena bared that “there are no more competitions” for him to participate in.
“With limited time to return this indoor season my results have been far from consistent. Vaulting has been a roller-coaster, with huge ups and downs. Being consistent takes repetition after repetition which takes time,” he posted on Facebook.
“Even though there is still time to qualify for the World Indoor Championships, there are no more competitions left for me to participate. The last competition was on the 16th of February in Torun, Poland and the next one that I got is Mondo Classic on the 13th of March, which is already outside the qualification period,” he added.
“With this I would inevitably miss the championships.”
The 29-year-old stressed that he and his team “have scoured the calendar for possible competitions but NO LUCK.”
Since returning to action, Obiena has seen up-and-down performances. After a silver medal in Cottbus and a gold medal in Metz, he finished second to last in the ISTAF Indoor in Dusseldorf, Germany.
He then delivered his season best in Torun, Poland, striking gold after clearing 5.80 meters.
And now, Obiena will be setting his sights on the outdoor season.
“I will hence prioritize and prepare for the upcoming outdoor competition. This is when I would represent the country in the World Championships, Asian Championships and SEA Games. The key is to go into the outdoor season healthy and ready to compete at the highest level,” he said.
“It is also important to defend what I have already achieved in these championships.”
The World No. 4 Obiena will be competing in the Mondo Classic next, which is set next week.
“Believe me, I am in a much better shape that what the result is reflecting and I am not stopping there… I believe my best vaults are ahead.”
