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EJ Obiena, here seen in action at last week’s Mondo Classic, bagged his second gold medal in seven days and will take clear form heading into the Copernicus Cup in two days. —AFP FILE PHOTO
Forced to stay and compete in Europe and not gun for the title on the continent, EJ Obiena certainly made the most of it.
The 27-year-old from Tondo in Manila won another gold medal on Sunday after clearing 5.77 meters at the 2023 Orlen Cup in Lodz, Poland, which belittled Obiena’s impressive performance, which, embarrassingly, she could not take to the Asian Athletics. Indoor Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, due to travel snafu.
The plane going to Kazakhstan could not bring the pole, and Obiena has come away with medals after four events at the Euro indoor winter-silver and bronze in Germany and Sweden, respectively, and another gold in France-for the Sort of absent in. Asian championship.
Obiena cleared 5.82 meters in victory in France, and just missed out on silver in Sweden when he failed at 6.0 meters which would have broken a tie with KC Lightfoot of the United States.
He has now decided on the Copernicus Cup in Torun, also in Poland, where he will suffer a shorter travel time compared to the trip from Sweden for the Mondo Cup to Lodz.
“Now, we are resting and recovering for the Copernicus Cup on February 8. The journey from Sweden to Poland was not easy,” Obiena posted on his Facebook page after beating Sam Kendricks of the United States and Piotr Lisek of Poland.
Kendricks and Lisek both cleared 5.70 meters, but the Americans won silver on countback.
“It’s nice to win in Lodz. It was a tough battle, physically and mentally,” said Obiena as he hopes to recover from a tiring week with a two-day break before the Copernicus Cup.
Obiena is expected to lead the national track and field team at the Asian Indoor on February 10 to 12. The event is also a preview of Obiena’s Asian Games gold medal campaign in Hangzhou, China, in September.
The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association said Obiena was forced to go inside Asia due to logistical challenges as her pole could not be accommodated by a small plane bound for Astana.
The Orlen Cup win could ease the disappointment as Obiena has already collected the medals.
Three days ago, Obiena succeeded in scoring a personal and national indoor mark of 5.91 meters at the Mondo Classic, a tournament named after Armand Duplantis, in Uppsala, Sweden, after his first gold effort at Perche En Or in Roubaix, France. title of the year.
Scoring second place at the indoor season opener at the Internationales Springer Meeting in Cottbus, Germany, Obiena has collected a total of two golds, one silver and one bronze and another at the Copernicus Cup not far behind.
It was a remarkable effort for Obiena, considering the journey she had to make – a 16-hour journey covering almost 1,500 kilometers from Uppsala. INQ
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