MANILA – Filipino pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena overcame foggy conditions to rule the Taiwan International Pole Vault Championship held recently at the Sun Moon Lake in Nantou.
The gold medal marked the start of the outdoor season bid for Obiena after announcing earlier this month that he’d be missing the world Indoor Championship due to lack of competitions.
“Well, I had a new experience a few days ago. I had my first fog warning in the midst of a pole vault competition, in Taiwan. Here (3rd slide) is what the approach looked like heading towards the vault. You just disappear. Talk about the proverbial “Leap of faith”!” Obiena said in an Instagram post.
“Well, I decided to go for it and place my leap of faith in God’s hand. I am thankful to have won the competition under such “murky” conditions!” added the former University of Santo Tomas standout.
However, that was not the first time for the two-time Olympian to encounter a challenging condition in a competition.
During the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, Obiena also had to weather heavy rains and strong winds en route to take home the gold medal.
“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 definitely learned from it!” Obiena said./PN
