EJ Obiena’s road to the world’s best runways started at a lone pole vault pit in Manila. He hasn’t forgotten it.
EJ Obiena made his way back to Chiang Kai Shek College in Manila a few days after winning his second Asian Games gold. It was the school where he studied from nursery through high school, and his former coaches were there, including those who watched him run the hurdles for the school.
These days, the medal is not as important as the path he has to take to earn it, he said to those in the room. “How did you get there, how I feel when I’m there, it’s very crucial.”
Where it Started
That path can be traced to Manila, where EJ was born to two track athletes. His father Emerson was a national pole vaulter and SEA Games medalist. His mother, Jeanette, was a college hurdler. Back in the early 90s, the only pole vault pit in the city was at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, and that is where Emerson would take his son. The boy was not big enough to do it himself, so his father guided him through it. When he put in a plea to vault for real, he was told the poles were not small enough.
His dad coached EJ until he was 18. A 2014 trip to Formia, Italy, with the intent of getting an autograph from Sergey Bubka turned into something more. For the next 12 years, EJ trained under Bubka’s former coach, Vitaly Petrov.
In 2017, after an ACL tear, he told his parents he was going to take time off UST to pursue the Olympics. On Bernadette Sembrano’s vlog, EJ remembered his father’s response: “Are you stupid? You’re wasting your future.” He gave his word he would return to school if Tokyo did not work out. He made it to Tokyo and Paris.
A Second Life
It’s not all sports for EJ, however. There have been Vogue Philippines features, including a shoot at San Diego’s Lafayette Hotel that cast him in old Hollywood looks. He also attended Paris Fashion Week in 2024 together with his girlfriend, the German triple jumper Caroline Joyeux. EJ was quick to quip ahead of time that his speedsuit would not meet the dress code, then showed up in a sleek white co-ord and blue blazer. On the track, he will still put on mismatched cartoon socks, like the SpongeBob and Patrick Star pair he wore at the Tokyo Olympics final. “I don’t wanna take myself too seriously,” he has put it.
In June he set up his training in Athens with Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis. He finished the year with ten wins, the last of them in Nagoya.
His new training partner, whom he calls Manolo, is also a good friend, “a guy who’s jolly, who’s enjoying,” as EJ describes him. The change of scene shows. “I’m a little bit happier, I enjoy what I do,” he said after the season.
Where the Heart Is
But the Philippines will always be where EJ’s heart lies. At a Senate committee hearing earlier this month, he spoke of Filipino athletes being world-class but the facilities falling short. “What’s limiting us is the access to facilities,” he said. Old news for one who had to make do with the capital’s single pit to learn the vault.
Home is also family. His father once said the biggest sacrifice EJ made for the sport was living so far from them. So when the season ended in Nagoya, the first trip was back to Manila. Emerson, meanwhile, still vaults, and won gold in the 60-and-over division at the World Masters Games in Taipei last year. “My dad’s still got it,” EJ said.
Turning 31 this November, EJ still has productive pole-vaulting years ahead, with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as the biggest target. His new training base might be in Athens, but for sure he still remembers where it all started: in Manila under the guidance of his parents and teachers.
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