NEVER SURRENDER

Ernest John Obiena extinguished speculations of a possible retirement, saying that his setback in the recent Paris Olympics made him hungrier to bring pride and honor to the country.

Still licking the wounds caused by his heartbreaking setback in the Summer Games, the 28-year-old pole vault specialist said he should not be measured by a singular event — the Olympics — but his collective performance that sent him soaring to No. 2 in the world ranking.

‘The measure of a man or a woman is not a singular event — like the Olympics — but a cumulative or collective measure over time.’

He stressed that the loss in Paris will not send him to retirement but will fuel him to work hard and make the country proud in the international arena.

“The measure of a man or a woman is not a singular event — like the Olympics — but a cumulative or collective measure over time. I finished fourth in Paris, close but not good enough. I am measured by this. I am measured by my career,” said Obiena, who took a 12-hour drive from Paris to his training base in Formia in Italy days after his Olympic setback.

He, however, eventually joined other Filipino athletes, who landed via a chartered flight at the Villamor Air Base on Tuesday night before proceeding to Malacanang to have dinner with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.

The Chief Executive also handed the athletes their cash incentives with gymnast Carlos Yulo emerging as topnotcher after clinching two gold medals that made him the first double gold medalist in the country’s 100-year of participation in the Summer Games.

Yulo was also conferred with the prestigious Presidential Medal of Merit for his heroic performance in the French capital.

Obiena, on the other hand, stressed that he will work hard in the coming days with the goal of finally winning a medal in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

“I commit to everyone now, I am back in training, I am back in the game, and I’m going to attack the rest of the season and make you proud,” he said.

Obiena was a major letdown in the Summer Games.

One of the few Filipino athletes expected to land on the podium of the Olympics, Obiena struggled from start to finish, prompting Swedish sensation Armand Duplantis to turn the Games into his own show with a record-breaking performance.

Obiena had a jittery start as he missed clearing his first few vaults at 5.60 meters in the preliminaries before getting into the groove that sent him to the final round.

In the finals, Obiena stood his ground against the giants of the game like Duplantis and Sam Kendricks of the United States early on. However, he ran out of steam as he failed to clear 5.95 meters to tumble out of the medal podium.

Sideliners believe that his Olympic setback will affect his world ranking.

But Obiena is unbothered, saying that his main concern is to redeem that painful setback and turn doubters into believers.

“You are going to see more from me, and see the Philippine flag raised on the global stage,” he said.

“Let’s get on with it.”