EJ Obiena to focus on outdoor season

(UPDATE) FILIPINO pole vault ace Ernest John "EJ" Obiena revealed that he is set to miss the World Indoor Championships slated from March 21 to 23 in Nanjing, China.

Missing a few tournaments as he was recovering from the back injury that ended his 2024 season prematurely, Obiena said that he lacks some competitions to qualify for the Worlds and thus he will miss it.

"Even though there is still time to qualify for the World Indoor Championships, there are no more competitions left for me to participate," wrote Obiena in a lengthy social media post on Tuesday.

"The last competition was on the 16th of February in Torun, Poland, and the next one that I got is Mondo Classic on the 13th of March, which is already outside 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 last saw action on Feb. 17 when he competed in his fourth tournament of the year — the Orlen Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland, where he soared to a season-best 5.80 meters to claim the gold medal.

Ranked fourth in his sport, Obiena started the year with a silver medal finish at the International Springer-Meeting Cottbus on Jan. 30.

Obiena then topped the Meeting Metz Moselle Athlelor in France on Feb. 9 before losing his indoor title at Istaf Indoor the following day.

With the indoor worlds already out of the equation, Obiena, who said in his lengthy post that he's been feeling better in multiple aspects of his training and recovery, shared that he's going to focus now on the outdoor season.

"The indoor season is always a backseat to the outdoor season. I will hence prioritize and prepare for the upcoming outdoor competition. This is when I would represent the country in the World Championships, Asian Championships and SEA Games," said Obiena.

"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."

Holder of the Asian record of 6.0 meters, Obiena, 29, said that his best vaults are still ahead.

"Believe me, I am in a much better shape than what the result is reflecting, and I am not stopping there. Next Stop before Outdoors, Mondo Classic! Thank you for your support and understanding. I believe my best vaults are ahead."