Ernest John Uy Obiena (born November 17, 1995) is a Filipino

pole vaulter Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the My ...

. Before breaking the

Asian Athletics Championships The Asian Athletics Championships is an event organized by the Asian Athletics Association. History The competition courted controversy with the IAAF when political in-fighting arose after Israel was excluded from participation in 1977. That e ...

record, he held the Philippine national record in pole vaulting with a record of 5.55 meters which he accomplished on April 29, 2016, at the 78th Singapore Open Championships in

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

, Singapore. He later broke the

record with 5.71 meters on April 21, 2019, on its 23rd biennial meet at

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

which earned him the coveted gold medal finish. He currently holds the National Record which he broke in the same event. Obiena is currently ranked as the world's third-best active men's pole vaulter, as per the

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Obiena is the first Filipino that has been given a scholarship from the

International Athletic Association Federation World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

(IAAF).

Early life and education

Obiena was born to track and field athletes,

Emerson Obiena Emerson Obiena is a Filipino pole vaulter and coach. Obiena is silver medalist at the 1993 Southeast Asian Games finishing behind fellow countryman, Edward Lasquete in the pole vault event and at the 1999 Southeast Asian Games. The last medal he ...

and Jeanette Uy on November 17, 1995, in Tondo, Manila. He is of part Chinese descent. Obiena attended Chiang Kai Shek College for his secondary education and later entered the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

for his college studies.

Pole vault career

Early years

EJ Obiena first took up pole vaulting when he was eight years old but he initially focused on doing hurdles. His father,

served as his coach until he was 18 years old. Obiena competed at the 100 and 400 meter hurdles event for his high school, Chiang Kai Shek College. Unable to qualify for regional meets, He decided to shift back to pole vaulting when he was in his last years in high school in a bid to secure a college scholarship. At the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), he competed for the Ateneo de Manila University in 2012.

National team

In early 2014, Obiena was able to meet Ukrainian pole vaulter

Sergey Bubka Sergey Nazarovych Bubka ( uk, Сергій Назарович Бубка; born 4 December 1963) is a Ukrainian former pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. Bubka was twice named Athlete of the Year by ''Tr ...

who was visiting the Philippines. He originally intended just to get an autograph from Bubka but he was able to learn of an opportunity to train in Italy. In the same year for three months, Obiena went to Italy to train under coach Vitaly Petrov in Formia who also previously coached Bubka. On July 20, 2014, at the PATAFA weekly relays held at the

PhilSports Football and Athletics Stadium The Philippine Institute of Sports Football and Athletics Stadium, formerly known as the ULTRA Stadium (University of Life Training and Recreational Arena), is a stadium located inside the PhilSports Complex in Oranbo, Pasig, Metro Manila, Phili ...

, Obiena broke the national record for pole vault by registering 5.01 meters. The previous record was 5.0 meters by

Edward Lasquete Edward Lasquete is a Filipino Pole Vaulter who competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. At the Olympics, he was not able to make a podium finish, but set a National Record in Pole Vault by registering a record of 5.0 meters. He i ...

at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The junior national record was also broken, since Obiena at that time is 18 years old. The previous record was 4.31 set three years before. He later broke his own record several times in 2014 alone (5.05, 5.05, 5.15, 5.20, 5.21). By the time Obiena became ineligible for the national junior record, the record was 5.21 which Obiena set himself. In the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, Obiena won a silver medal with a leap of 5.25 meters, then his personal record. Obiena won a gold medal in the 2016 Philippine National Games Finals in Lingayen, Pangasinan after breaking a new personal record (5.47 meters), despite problems with his broken pole. Obiena won gold in the men's pole vault event at the

2019 Summer Universiade ) , Nations participating = 118 , Athletes participating = 5,971 , Events = 220 , Sports = 18 , Opening ceremony = 3 July , Closing ceremony = 14 July , Officially opened by = President Se ...

setting a new national record of 5.76 meters. He secured a berth in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

by surpassing the qualifying standard by making a 5.81 meters finish in a tournament in Chiara, Italy on September 3, 2019. The finish was also a national record. At the

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held betw ...

he failed to advance to the final round by finishing 15th out of 35 entrants through his 5.6 meters finish. He is aiming to surpass his own record targeting to leap 5.85 meters or further in training. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

caused the postponement of the Olympics and travel restrictions imposed by countries in response to the health crisis posed logistical issues to Obiena's preparations. For most of 2020, Obiena spent his time training in Formia, Italy and was unable to go back to the Philippines during the Christmas season. He trained under American conditioning coach

James Michael Lafferty James Michael Lafferty (born 1963) is an American businessman, speaker, consultant, psychologist, and social media influencer. He is known for his story of starting as a fitness trainer in the Procter & Gamble Company in 1984 and progressing throu ...

and Nutritionist Carol Lafferty; along with Brazilian

Thiago Braz Thiago Braz da Silva (born 16 December 1993) is a Brazilian athlete specializing in the pole vault who holds the Olympic record of 6.03 metres. He won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics . ...

as his training partner. Competing in 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Obiena managed to advance to the final of the pole vault competition but failed make a podium finish. Obiena set a then Asian record in pole vault when he lifted his then best vault all the way to 5.93 meters at the International Golden Roof Challenge in

Innsbruck, Austria Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a pop ...

on September 12, 2021. He finished 1st in the tournament. This record was later broken on July 25, 2022, when Obiena lifted his best vault all the way to 5.94 meters at the World Athletics Championships in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. He won a bronze medal, becoming the first Filipino to win a medal in the tournament.

Coaches

Obiena has trained under coach Vitaly Petrov since 2014. Obiena's coaching team includes his father,

, mentor

, Physiotherapist Francesco Viscusi, Osteopath Antonio Guglietta, Nutrionist Carol Lafferty and

Sport Psychologist Sport psychology was defined by the European Federation of Sport in 1996, as the study of the psychological basis, processes, and effects of sport. Otherwise, sport is considered as any physical activity where the individuals engage for competi ...

Dr. Sheryll Casuga.

Dispute with PATAFA

In November 2021, the

Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) is the Sports governing body, National Sports Association (NSA) for Athletics (sport), athletics sports such as track and field, road running, cross country running, and racewalking in ...

(PATAFA) publicly escalated an accounting dispute involving late payments to Obiena's coach, Vitaly Petrov. Petrov later denied there was any payment issue with Obiena. Philippine Senators quickly came to Obiena's defense, calling unproven accusations "harassment" against an athlete considered a national treasure and passing a motion to recall the budget of the PSC. The Senators later approved the PSC budget with the condition that PATAFA will “rectify the grave injustice” done to Obiena's reputation. During congressional hearings, witnesses testified that PATAFA's payment system is broken. After an investigation by its Ethics Committee, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) declared PATAFA's president Philip Juico ''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution. Diplomacy Under Article 9 of the ...

'' for his role in the harassment of Obiena. The investigation of the POC's ethics committee concluded that Juico had harassed the athlete by making "malicious public accusations". On March 30, 2022, the Philippine Sports Commission announced that both parties reached an agreement during a mediation process. Obiena will be endorsed by PATAFA in any future competitions.

Competition record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obiena, Ernest 1995 births Filipino male pole vaulters Southeast Asian Games medalists in athletics University Athletic Association of the Philippines players University of Santo Tomas alumni Living people Southeast Asian Games silver medalists for the Philippines Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Asian Games Competitors at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games Asian Games competitors for the Philippines People from Tondo, Manila Competitors at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games Competitors at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Asian Athletics Championships winners Universiade gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists for the Philippines Medalists at the 2019 Summer Universiade Filipino expatriates in Italy Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the Philippines Competitors at the 2021 Southeast Asian Games World Athletics Championships medalists Filipino people of Chinese descent