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Looking to become the ‘best athlete my coach has ever trained,’ EJ Obiena says he must surpass pole vault icon and former world record holder Sergey Bubka
MANILA, Philippines – EJ Obiena has set the bar high for himself as he aims to become the best pole vaulter his coach Vitaly Petrov has ever produced.
And to do that, Obiena said he must surpass pole vault icon Sergey Bubka, whose former world record of 6.15 meters stood for almost two decades.
Bubka, who also worked with Petrov throughout a legendary career that saw him win an Olympic crown and multiple world titles, set his mark in 1993 before it got broken when Renaud Lavillenie cleared 6.16 meters in 2014.
The world record has been reset 10 more times by Armand Duplantis and now stands at 6.26 meters.
“Right now, my motivation is I really want to be the best athlete my coach has ever trained,” Obiena said in his meet and greet event at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Parañaque on Sunday, September 15. “I need to jump over 6.15.”
Obiena owns a personal record of 6.00 meters, becoming the first and only Asian to join the exclusive six-meter club.
He reached the height twice last year when he won gold in the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway and when he bagged a historic silver in the World Athletics Championships in Hungary.
The next goal is to hurdle 6.10 meters — a height accomplished by only three pole vaulters in history: Bubka, Lavillenie, and Duplantis.
“I think I can jump 6.10. Physically, I think I’m capable of it. I just need to hit it right. 6.15 is something I want to achieve because as I said, I really want to be the best athlete my coach has ever trained,” said Obiena.
Bubka and Petrov visited the country to attend the meet and greet event, which Obiena and his camp set up for his fans after they postponed the Philippine International Pole Vault Challenge originally scheduled for September 20.
The person who introduced Obiena to Petrov, Bubka said the Filipino star has come a long way since they first meet a decade ago.
“He was a young boy with some good potential. Today, he is one of the best pole vaulters in the world. And they’re working really great and fantastic with Vitaly. I think this is super great, super results,” said Bubka.
“The Philippine people can be proud. This is great for Philippine sports.”
Bubka said Obiena has shown promise in his bid to breach the 6.15-meter mark.
“EJ has good potential and I believe he will continue to work hard to achieve the goal of the coach,” Bubka said.
But first, Obiena seeks to fully recuperate from the spine injury that forced him to cut his season short before he returns to action.
“Recovery is going well. We’ll know in a few weeks. We need to the MRI scan and make sure that the bone is completely healed then we can push again and we can train,” said Obiena – Rappler.com
