After struggling in his previous campaigns, Ernest John Obiena seeks to bounce back when he opens his outdoor season in the Diamond League in China on 26 April.
Obiena’s mother, Jeanette, told DAILY TRIBUNE that the former world No. 2 looks fit and ready to redeem himself in his outdoor campaign after posting a strong performance in the Taiwan International Pole Vault Championships at the Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan last Monday.
Despite the thick fog obstructing his view, Obiena cleared 5.50 meters in his third attempt to clinch the gold medal in this 25-man field that also included Southeast Asian (SEA) Games silver medalist Hokket delos Santos.
“What I know so far is that EJ will compete in the Diamond League in China, but I don’t know if he will join one or two legs there,” the elder Obiena said as she and national team pole vault coach Emerson Obiena were in Taiwan to support their son.
“He and Coach Vitaly (Petrov) are the ones planning the schedule. It all depends on how he and his coach will prepare.”
The first two legs of the Diamond League are set in China and both events will feature men’s pole vault. The first leg will be in Xiamen on 26 April while the second leg will be in Shanghai on 3 May.
The 29-year-old Obiena is craving for redemption after cutting his outdoor season short last year due to a back injury.
The Italy-based Obiena opted to skip the remaining legs of the Diamond League to focus on healing and rehabilitation as his last outdoor tourney was in the Paris Olympics last August, where he finished fourth with a height of 5.90m.
Obiena also looks to avenge his botched indoor season campaign after he didn’t qualify for the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China last 21 March.
The Asian Games champion wasn’t able to qualify as he ran out of competitions to join to hit the standard height of 5.85m before the 9 March deadline.
Familiar foes await Obiena in the Diamond League as the likes of world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden, Paris Olympics silver medalist Sam Kendricks of the United States, and Paris Summer Games bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece are expected to banner one of the biggest annual athletic meets in the world.
Obiena will be entering the outdoor season with fire in his eyes after experiencing the perils of competing amid thick fog.
“I had my first fog warning in the midst of a pole vault competition, in Taiwan. With roughly 10 meters visibility, you just disappear. Talk about the proverbial ‘Leap of faith!’” Obiena said.
“I am thankful to have won the competition under such ‘murky’ conditions! We can’t always have sunny skies and perfect weather conditions. We have to persevere through all kinds of adversity.”
“This was a new kind of adversity and I learned from it!”