Obiena up against a tough hurdle in Asiad

EJ OBIENA will defend his gold medal and will try to break his own record at the same time, in men’s pole vault as he leads a 24-member Philippine athletics team in the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

Philippine Athletics and Track and Field Association (PATAFA) president Terry Capistrano said the team is in harness for the competition set to start Wednesday at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.

Joining Obiena are medal potentials John Cabang Tolentino, Lauren Hoffman and Victoria Bossong, but Capistrano admitted he couldn’t draw any medal prediction.

“It’s so difficult to gauge or make any prediction about our medal chances. But we do we believe our quality athletes will surprise us,” Capistrano said. “They are really working hard since they arrived here in Nagoya despite the rains. They really conditioned themselves.”

Tolentino is the Bangkok 2025 Southeast Asian Games champion hurdler and Olympian alongside Hoffman, while Filipino-American Bossong, according to PATAFA coaches, has the numbers for podium finishes in the middle distance races.

Obiena owns the Asian record of 6.0 meters and the games record of 5.90 meters he set in Hangzhou three years ago.

Besides Tolentino (110m hurdles), Hoffman (400m women hurdles), Bossong (women’s 800m), and Obiena, the other national athletes are Yacine Guermali (5000m), Sonny Wagdos (5000m, marathon), Richard Solaño, and Artjoy Torregosa (Marathon) and Neil Michael Catral (200m)

The other athletes are Anfernee Lorena (100m), Jessica Rose Laurence (women’s 100m), Zion Rose Nelson (women’s 100m, 200m), Kristina Marie Knott (relays), Hussein Loraña (800m), Naomi Johnson (200m), Diana Pama (relays), Lanz Arcenal (400m) and Michael Carlo del Prado (400m).

Completing the cast are veterans Janry Ubas (long jump), and Leonard Grospe (high jump), Gabriel Borado (400m), Nathaniel Seiler (marathon race walk), Frederick Ramirez (relays), and Kent Francis Jardin (100m, relays).

“These athletes are all capable of making the final round,” Capistrano said. “Incredibly challenging so we will take it from there and hopefully podium finishes.”

Prior to their arrival to Nagoya where the athletics venue will be held at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, 

The athletes, except for Obiena and Guermali, warmed up at the Nippon Sports Science University from September 14 to 20.