Before advancing to the Olympic men’s pole vault finals, Thomasian pole vaulter EJ Obiena faced a critical moment, nearing elimination after failing to clear 5.60 meters twice.
Obiena had skipped the 5.40-meter mark, and in his initial two attempts at 5.60 meters, the world No. 2’s chances to advance seemed slim after dislodging the bar both times.
He was left with two options: make another attempt at 5.60 meters or skip the height and try again at 5.70 meters with one attempt remaining.
Feeling the pressure of the make-or-break moment, he consulted his Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov, who has been guiding him since 2014. Petrov made the call: skip 5.60 meters and move up to 5.70 meters.
In an interview with One Sports, Obiena explained how Petrov convinced him to go for the higher bar despite the pressure.
“I was like, are you sure? We missed two attempts at 60 and you wanna go 70? And I’ve not made a bar. And I was like, are you sure? And he said, ‘yeah, move up the pole,’” Obiena recalled.
“My dream was on the line with one jump, and it was as stressful as it could be.”
Obiena then attempted the higher height—and cleared it with ease.
After landing—perhaps drawing on his roots as a former UST electronics engineering student—Obiena let out a roar and embraced his coach in the stands.
EJ Obiena hugging his coach after completing his only attempt for 5.70 🇵🇭#Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/6IiSTSg2NK
— nessie⁷ 💜 (@happinessie) August 3, 2024
“Internally, I was like, why are you so calm? I’m literally stressed out and you’re so calm,” Obiena said. “That helped. And I just did what he told me and I executed. And I think after that, we’re pretty chill.”
Obiena, who finished 11th in the Tokyo Olympics, then cleared 5.75 meters to secure a spot in the finals, as the competition saw eliminations after 5.75 meters, leaving only the top 12.
Under Petrov’s guidance, Obiena has collected accolades and reached career milestones that have cemented his legacy in the world of pole vaulting.
He has qualified for two Olympics, dominated the Asian pole vault scene, joined the elite 6-meter club, and held his own against the world’s top pole vaulters, such as Sweden’s Armand Duplantis and USA’s Sam Kendricks, among others.
For Obiena, following the advice of his long-time mentor is key to maintaining his upward trajectory and achieving Olympic redemption.
“I’m just gonna do my thing, make the right decisions, every day, day in, day out. I think that’s all I’m gonna do,” he said. “I have a good team. I trust my coach with my life. And yeah, we’ll see what he plans.”
Obiena aims to break the country’s 88-year medal drought in athletics in the final round scheduled for Aug. 6 at 1 a.m. (Manila time), with the formidable Duplantis, the world record holder and top-ranked pole vaulter, as his main rival.
