By REY C. LACHICA
PARIS – With one stunning leap, EJ Obiena’s Olympic dream remained alive.
Having completed what could be his “leap of faith,” Obiena is now ready to wage another war against reigning Olympic and world champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden and 10 other equally tough rivals in the men’s pole vault finals in the Paris Olympics before an expected big crowd on Monday, Aug. 5 (Tuesday, Manila time) at the Stade de France.
Will there be another drama like what transpired in the preliminary round?
Expect the unexpected as Obiena chases his cherished childhood dream for the second time after his failed bid in the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games.
He finished a dismal 11th in the 12-player finals.
Things look rosy for Obiena this time around – thanks to that one big leap that changed his aura.
And yes, things, according to athletics chief Terry Capistrano, are beginning to fall to the right places for Obiena.
“He’s OK, no injuries,” said Capistrano. “EJ was able to make quick adjustments. Now he is ready to battle.”
Even Obiena’s mother, Jeanette, said she and her husband were pushed on the edge of seats when their son bungled his second of third attempt.
“Sobrang nervous kami,” she said
Obiena, 28, told veteran broadcaster Boom Gonzalez of Cignal TV that he was unsure whether to take that leap at 5.70 meters after failing to hurdle the 5.60-meter barrier twice.
“My Olympic dream was on the line,” Obiena told Gonzalez.
But Obiena did so upon the advice of his revered coach Vitaly Petrov of Ukraine.
While Obiena was nervous, Petrov was a picture of calm and confidence.
That was what Obiena needed – the trust of his coach that he could do it.
And when Obiena succeeded, he went wild, screaming and pumping his chest ala-Tarzan.
“Sorry for the language, my s*** went up and turned around,” Obiena told Gonzales while laughing.
“My Olympic dream was on the line but I made it,” said Obiena.
Obiena, however, needs to exceed his personal best of 6.00 meters by at least .24 meters to have a chance of beating Duplantis.
Obiena holds the Asian record at 6.00 meters which he logged last year but this season, his best is only at 5.95 meters which he did in winning the Irena Szewinska Memorial in Poland last June.
Duplantis owns the world mark at 6.24 meters, a feat everybody believes is hard to topple – at least for this generation.
