World No. 4 pole vaulter EJ Obiena departs Manila for Xiamen to kick off his 2024 outdoor season at the Diamond League on April 26, following a rigorous three-week camp at Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub under coach Vitaly Petrov.
Obiena, 28, capped his indoor run with an eighth-place finish in Sweden and went on to win back-to-back golds in Taiwan.
The Filipino athlete praised Vermosa’s world-class training environment and noted that Petrov only allowed minimal rest, even training twice on Easter.
Obiena is tempering expectations but remains optimistic about competing alongside the world’s best, including Armand “Mondo” Duplantis.
After Xiamen, he heads to Shanghai and hopes to join the Asian Championships in Korea, with a potential brief return to the Philippines in early May.
Source: PhilNews24 | April 23, 2025
