Obiena to miss World Indoor Championships, shifts focus to outdoor season

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'My best vaults are ahead,' says EJ Obiena, even as he falls short of the World Indoor Championships after failing to meet the entry standard within the qualification period

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena intends to slowly shift his focus to the outdoor season as he is expected to miss the World Indoor Championships.

Obiena will no longer qualify for the global showcase slated from March 21 to 23 in Nanjing, China, after failing to meet the entry standard of 5.85 meters within the qualification period.

Although Obiena still has one indoor event left when he competes in the Mondo Classic in Uppsala, Sweden, on March 13, that is already past the qualification deadline on March 9.

“I can promise you all that my team and I have scoured the calendar for possible competitions but no luck. With this I would inevitably miss the championships,” said Obiena in a lengthy post on social media accounts.

Obiena has won two golds medals and cracked the podium thrice for the indoor season, but his season best stands at just 5.80 meters, which he set when he ruled the ORLEN Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland, last February 16.

The world No. 4 admitted he still lacks consistency after recovering from a spine injury that forced him to cut his 2024 campaign short.

His recent results are proof, with Obiena finishing second in the International Springer-Meeting Cottbus in Germany and first in Meeting Metz Moselle Athlelor in France then landing at seventh in the ISTAF Indoor Dusseldorf in Germany and ninth in the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais.

Obiena bounced back by reigning in the ORLEN Copernicus Cup.

“I healed over end of 2024 and I am happy to say my back is fine. I am also happy to say that training is looking better, and in some aspects, better that they have ever been,” he said.

“With limited time to return this indoor season, my results have been far from consistent. Vaulting has been a rollercoaster, with huge ups and downs. Being consistent takes repetition after repetition, which takes time.”

The world indoors out of the picture, Obiena said he is setting his sights on the outdoor season as he aims to do well in the World Athletics Championships, Asian Athletics Championships, and the Southeast Asian Games.

He is the reigning titlist in both the Asian Athletics Championships and the SEA Games.

“The key is to go into the outdoor season healthy and ready to compete at the highest level. It is also important to defend what I have already achieved in these championships,” Obiena said.

“Believe me, I am in a much better shape that what the result is reflecting and I am not stopping there,” he added. “I believe my best vaults are ahead.”

In the Mondo Classic, Obiena will go up against the best in the sport as reigning Olympic champion Armand Duplantis and Olympic medalists Sam Kendricks and Emmanouil Karalis headline the meet. – Rappler.com