THOMASIAN pole vault star EJ Obiena returned to his roots in UST on Sept. 12, visiting the campus for the first time since 2022 and accommodating an exclusive interview with The Varsitarian.
The two-time Olympian, who is a former electronics engineering student at the UST Faculty of Engineering, was greeted with a warm welcome from UST officials and students on Thursday.
Obiena last visited the University in September 2022 in a homecoming event that featured a testimonial, where he was conferred the Pope John Paul II Award for his Outstanding Achievement in Sports.
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In the interview with The Varsitarian, the Thomasian Olympian looked back on his challenging journey at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he finished in fourth place, a spot shy of ending the Philippine athletics’ 88-year medal drought in the Olympics.
Obiena, a former UST Trackster, also shared his vision of growing the sport in the country, as well as his recent fractured spine diagnosis, which sidelined him for the rest of 2024.
The World No. 3 pole vaulter also gave updates on his postponed plan to stage a “world-class” pole vault tournament, supposedly featuring his fellow Olympians Armand “Mondo” Duplantis of Sweden, USA’s Christopher Nilsen, and Brazil’s Thiago Braz.
More details about the interview will be released on The Varsitarian’s social media pages.
After the interview, Obiena also accommodated representatives from the College of Education and Tiger Media Network. He also paid a visit to the Roque Ruaño Building, where he spent his undergraduate years.
Obiena returned to the Philippines after his injury diagnosis but will be flying back to Europe on Sept. 15.
