Rising vaulters look up to E.J.

CEBU CITY — Secondary boys pole vault gold medalist Aaron Angeles and silver medalist Francis Allen Sillar have one more thing in common apart from competing for the National Capital Region in the 64th Palarong Pambansa at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Both pole vaulters train under national team pole vault coach Emerson Obiena, the father of two-time Olympian Ernest John Obiena.

For Angeles, who competes for Adamson High School, he wants to follow in Obiena’s footsteps.

The 17-year-old pole vaulter edged out Sillar as he was the first pole vaulter to go over 3.80 meters.

“It’s inspiring for me because EJ Obiena is a one-of-a-kind athlete and the young pole vaulters here in the country are getting stronger,” Angeles said.

“I want to compete in international tournaments in the future.”

Obiena once competed in this prestigious multi-sport conclave for student-athletes in elementary and high school but his best in the tournament performance in pole vault was at 3.70m.

Sillar, who plays for the University of Santo Tomas, is still proud of what he has achieved in this year’s Palaro as he aims to compete in more tournaments.

“I’m still happy since we both got the same height. If I got over 4.0m today, I would have gotten a new PB (personal best),” Sillar said, who is teammates with Hokket delos Santos, another pole vaulter who is under Obiena’s tutelage.

“I also want to compete overseas but I want to start in lower-tier tournaments first.”

The elder Obiena, who was the first coach of EJ before getting honed by Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov, said the pole vault competitions in the Palaro continue to get better each year and get more intense as contestants get exposed to his son’s exploits from around the world.

After all, the 28-year-old pole vaulter once competed in the Palaro like most Filipino athletes and is now one of the Philippines’ best bets to clinch a gold medal in the Paris Olympics, which opens on 26 July.

“When it comes to the Palarong Pambansa, back then, getting 3.40m was enough for a bronze medal. Now, getting a 3.60m isn’t enough for a podium finish so this is good for pole vaulting,” Obiena said.

“For me, I hope they are inspired by EJ’s achievements and it proves that Filipinos can excel here if they are given the proper training, equipment and support.”