PHILIPPINE Athletics Track and Field Association of the Philippines president Terry Capistrano has procured new poles for Paris Olympics medal hopeful EJ Obiena, who has dealt with two broken poles over the past couple of weeks.
“We ordered two sets of poles to be delivered to EJ,” PATAFA secretary-general Jasper Tanhueco said.
Mr. Obiena has been a shell of himself minus his old reliable poles, finishing seventh out of eight participants in the Bauhaus-Galan Wanda Diamond League in Stockholm, Sweden after clearing just 5.70 meters on borrowed sticks.
Swedish titan Armand Duplantis ruled the meet with six meters flat while American Sam Kendricks and KC Lightfoot took the silver and bronze with a 5.90m and 5.80m, respectively.
“Not my day today (Monday),” said Mr. Obiena on his social media account. “5.70m here in the wonderful @bauhausgalan. Thank you to the boys for lending me some sticks to jump on. Greatly appreciate it gentlemen.” “Thank you @bauhausgalan for having me. Hope to be back here again and jump a little bit higher,” he added.
He first broke his pole in the Ostrava Golden Spike in the Czech Republic where he also ended up seventh as well as the Oslo Diamond League in Norway where he went home with a silver, both on borrowed sticks.
But the poles are coming.
And PATAFA hopes this would solve whatever problems Mr. Obiena has — with his pole. — Joey Villar