BY NiCK GIONGCO
Italy-based pole vaulter EJ Obiena has found a new place to stay after getting orders from Italian authorities to vacate his dormitory in the city of Formia.
Obiena, the first Filipino to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, has been based there the past few years and Patafa president Philip Juico told the Bulletin late Thursday afternoon that he has found a new home.
“EJ is staying in a new place outside the training facility but he and some others continue to train there after Italian authorities told him to vacate,” said Juico.
Since the whole of Italy is on lockdown, there is no way Obiena, 23, who took the gold in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, can return to the country and reunite with his parents.
Despite the lockdown, Obiena and just select athletes are the only ones allowed to use the facilities.
“So far training goes on and things are still going well for the preparation. We are one of the lucky ones who can still train with the current lockdown,” said Obiena.
And with the Tokyo Olympics under threat if being postponed or even scrapped, Obiena admits the situation has affected those concerned.
“It a bit of a stress that we were definitely not prepared for. I’m not gonna stop preparing as things are still a go at the moment but we already have a contingency plan,” he added.
Obiena, an Engineering student of the University of Santo Tomas, secured an Olympic berth after topping a tournament in Europe last September and is one of just four Filipino athletes who have made the Olympic grade.
The others are world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo and boxers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish
