BY NICK GIONGCO
Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena insists he longs for the comforts of home while training in a country being shaken to the core by the coronavirus pandemic.
Holed out in Formia, a seaside city halfway between Rome and Naples, Obiena admits his family in the Philippines is “worried” but their constant online chat is giving his loved ones the assurance that “all is okay.”
Obiena is the first Filipino qualifier to the Tokyo Olympics and while there is no official word yet as to whether the July 24-Aug. 9 Games are going to proceed or not given the current global situation, Obiena is staying put.
Besides, the 6-2 athlete doesn’t have a choice given Italy is on total lockdown while the Philippines is likewise is starting to come to grips with battling the deadly disease.
“As long as i can train here I think I would stay here,” said Obiena, who secured an Olympic berth last September.
Still, Obiena feels “it’s definitely safer to be home but the risk of traveling is worst I believe,” he added.
Track and field association chief Philip Juico had earlier revealed that Obiena had to vacate his dormitory on the orders of Italian authorities and is now living in a place just outside the training center.
Obiena is just one of a chosen few allowed to train in Formia, where he has been based the last few years so he could hone his skills further under renowned coach Vitaly Petrov.
Petrov used to be the mentor of Olympic and six-time world champion Sergey Bubka, two-time Olympic and three-time world champion from Ukraine, Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia and world champion Giuseppe Gibilisco of Italy.
Under Petrov, Obiena’s personal best is now 5.80 meters.
During the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, Obiena finally achieved one of his goals when he won the gold after missing out on that chance in the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur.
