EJ Obiena clarifies he ‘will be back’ for 2024 Olympics

Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena finished at 11th place in the men’s pole vault match during the Tokyo Games. While his amusing Spongebob and Patrick Star socks were the talk of the internet, there were also some reports on his uncertainty of competing in the following Olympic tournament. The athlete wanted everyone to know that this wasn’t the case.

The 25-year-old said that his sentiments on competing in the 2024 Olympics were taken out of context. He clarified his comments through his Instagram and Facebook pages. He said, ‘I should not have entertained questions about 2024 so soon after the final. I learned a lesson. It was just reported that I am “unsure” or “not keen” on competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.’

Obiena explained that the question he received about the following Olympics was difficult to answer. In fact, he is still digesting what happened during his recent match in Japan. He said, ‘I am not, at this time, thinking about the 2024 Olympics. My mistake was in trying to be accommodating to the press at a time that I am still distracted by what transpired in the pole vault final.’

To add emphasis to his explanation, the pole vaulter affirmed that he still loves the sport of pole vaulting and representing the country. He said, ‘I still love competing. I still know I can win. You can draw your own conclusions from this.’

‘I will be back, and I will be back to win. But I want some time to digest the events of the past week, and especially the past 24 hours,’ he added.

Obiena was the only Asian participant who made it to the final but didn’t make it to the top 10 after failing to clear 5.80 meters in three tries. However, he did clear the 5.70m mark after three attempts.

Banner: (L) Instagram/ernestobienapv, (R) Ben Stansall/AFP

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Source: we the pvblic