Obiena Shifts Focus to Outdoor Season After Missing World Indoors

AFTER a successful start to the year, Filipino pole vaulter Ernest John (EJ) Obiena will focus on the outdoor season, as he will miss the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in China. 

In a lengthy Instagram post on Tuesday, March 4, Obiena announced that he will miss the indoor competition while also assuring fans that he is in good shape for the busy outdoor season. 

Meanwhile, the two-time Olympian announced that the back injury that cut short his 2024 season is gradually getting better, allowing him to represent the Philippines in a number of big tournaments again.

Ran Out of Events

While 2024 has been a tough year for Obiena, he is clearly making improvements at the start of this year. However, his outstanding performances in recent indoor competitions are insufficient to make up for the time he lost.

“I healed by the end of 2024 and I am happy to say my back is fine. I am also happy to say that training is looking better and in some aspects better that they have ever been,” the 29-year-old said in his post.

“With limited time to return this indoor season my results have been far from consistent. Vaulting has been a roller-coaster, with huge ups and downs. Being consistent takes repetition after repetition which takes time.”

“Even though there is still time to qualify for the World Indoor Championships, there are no more competitions left for me to participate,” Obiena went on to explain on why he’ll miss the championships that will be held in China.

The indoor event was set to take place from March 21 to 23. However, the last qualifying event was held on February 16 in Torun, Poland, and the next is the Mondo Classic on March 13, which is already past the qualification period.

“I can promise you all that my team and I have scoured the calendar for possible competitions but no luck. With this I would inevitably miss the championships,” Obiena said.

What’s the Next Move?

Obiena and his team will begin the preparations for the outdoor season, defending his records and gold medals at the Asian Championships and Southeast Asian (SEA) Games later this year.

“The indoor season is always a backseat to the outdoor season. I will hence prioritize and prepare for the upcoming outdoor competition,” Obiena stated in his lengthy post.

“The key is to go into the outdoor season healthy and ready to compete at the highest level. It is also important to defend what I have already achieved in these championships,” he added.

While it may not have been the picture that the world’s fourth-ranked pole vaulter saw for his indoor season, Obiena will surely prepare for what lies ahead. Obiena will return to action on March 13 at the Mondo Classic in Sweden.