By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Pole vaulter EJ Obiena is shifting his focus on outdoor competitions for now after failing to meet the qualifying standard for the 2025 World Indoor Athletics Championships set in Nanjing, China on March 21 to 23.
On a social media post late Tuesday, March 4, the two-time Olympian said there are no more available competitions left for him to qualify owing to time constraint.
The qualifying standard for men’s pole vault is 5.85 meters, and must be met within the period of Sept. 1, 2024 to March 9 this year.
In the last four months of 2024, Obiena decided to skip several qualifying events to fully recover from a back injury he sustained while training for the Paris Olympics.
Though he had competed in five events this year, his best was only 5.80m at the Orlen Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland last month.
“The next (tournament) I got is Mondo Classic on the 13th of March, which is already outside the qualification period,” Obiena said.
“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,” he added.
Last year, Obiena qualified to the world indoors held in Glasgow, Scotland where he finished ninth with 5.65m.
Despite the development, Obiena chose to move forward as he eyes to represent the country in the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea on May 21 to 31, the World Outdoor Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan on Sept. 13 to 21, the Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand on Dec. 7 to 19.
“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,” said Obiena, who holds the national and Asian record of 6.00m.
“I am in a much better shape, that’s what the result is reflecting and I am not stopping there,” he added.
