Todo papuri ngayon si Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) president Philip Ella Juico sa Olympian na si EJ Obiena kasunod ng kanyang tagumpay sa Golden Roof Challenge sa Innsbruck, Austria.
Maliban kasi sa gold medal na naibulsa ni Obiena, naitala rin nito ang bagong Asian record, Philippine record maging ang kanyang personal best.
Malinis na nalusutan ng Tokyo Olympian ang 5.93 meters at nabasag ang 29-year-old record ni Igor Potapovich mula sa Kazakhstan noong June 13, 1992 na nakapagtala ng 5.92 meters.
“The outstanding improvement in Obiena’s performance is certainly due also to the technical adjustments made by coach Vitaly and executed by Obiena. Even minor and subtle adjustments, unnoticed by ordinary laymen like us, can become a game changer and turning point at the highest level of a very technical and formidable event like pole vault,” ani Juico.
Matapos ang Tokyo Olympics at panalo sa ilang torneyo ay umangat na si Obiena sa No. 5 sa World Athletics rankings.
