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| EJ Obiena overcame various challenges to seal his place among the country’s greats in Philippine Athletics. ( File photo by=ART TRISTAN TAMAYO) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] MANILA: No other Filipino athlete has had a year quite like Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena. Obiena embedded his name in the record books by delivering the Philippines’ first-ever medal at the World Athletics Championships, claiming the bronze in a riveting pole vault final in Eugene, Oregon, USA, PH Inquirer Sports reported.
But as hard as it is to imagine, Obiena’s historic feat could’ve easily never happened amid a tumultuous seven-month span that saw him get dropped from the national team, sidelined by COVID-19, and stopped at the US airport on his way to the world. Obiena picked up where he left off to begin 2022, facing grave allegations thrown against him by the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa), under then-president Philip Ella Juico, over misuse of liquidation funds. The issue dragged on for several more months, forcing Obiena to miss the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in March after Patafa’s exclusion of the Tokyo Olympian’s name from its list of athletes heading into the 31st Southeast Asian Games.
Days later, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) stepped in and included Obiena’s name on the roster for the SEA Games. Obiena and Patafa finally reached a settlement after a successful mediation led by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on March 30.
