February 14 ------ World-class pole vaulter EJ Obiena returns to competition next week by joining three indoor tournaments to bolster his preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The two-time Asian champion and will first see action in the Memorial Josip Gasparac in Osijek, Croatia on Feb. 20, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze type of event which places the competition among the world’s largest athletics meetings. After Croatia, Obiena will travel to Berlin, Germany for the ISTAF Indoor on Feb. 23 where he hopes to eclipse his last year’s performance of 5.82 meters for silver medal behind world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden (6.06m).
The Berlin tournament, an Indoor Tour Silver type event, is expected to be a springboard for Obiena in his campaign at the World Indoor Championship slated in Glasgow, Scotland on March 3. This would be the first time that Obiena is competing in the world indoor tilt, which will gather some of the world’s finest pole vaulters. “Better late than never... right? Joining the indoor season party next week,” Obiena wrote on social media, referring to his latest schedule after the indoor season started last month.
Ranked No. 2 in the world, Obiena has been training extensively in Italy for his campaign at the Olympics. The returning Olympian hopes to improve his previous performance at the Games, where he finished at joint 11th with 5.70m in Tokyo in 2021. At the moment, though, Obiena holds the national and Asian record of 6.00m.
Source: mb.com.ph
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