POC head lauds Obiena for latest gold-medal performance in Poland

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino congratulated Ernest John “EJ” Obiena for his gold medal-winning performance at the Orlen Cup in Lodz, Poland on Saturday, Feb. 12.

“EJ is a true athlete and his performance in Poland is testament to his love, dedication and passion for his sport—despite the issues he’s been going through outside of the playing field,” Tolentino said.

Obiena cleared 5.81 meters to bag the gold medal, beating Brazil’s Thiago Braz, the Rio de Janeiro Olympics champion, and Poland’s Piotr Lisek, who claimed silver and bronze, respectively, with similar 5.71-meter efforts.

“EJ displayed pure focus in winning the gold medal, his first for the season,” Tolentino added.

Obiena competed in Poland sans support from his mother association, the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA). Financial support from the Philippine Sports Commission through the PATAFA remains pending because of the ongoing rift between the Asian men’s pole vault record holder and the national sports association.

Obiena had surgery to fix his right knee in January and returned to action at the ISTAF Indoor Berlin and Beijer Pole Vault Gala in Sweden where he did 5.70 meters for a fourth- and eighth-place finish, respectively.

He is scheduled to compete again on Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Meeting Hauts-De-France in Lievin, France. (POC) – bny

Popular

On Teachers’ Month, DepEd notes good news for teachers

By Brian Campued As the Philippines joins the global community in honoring the invaluable contributions of teachers in shaping the next generation’s leaders and professionals,...

Phivolcs identifies fault that caused magnitude 6.9 Cebu quake

By Brian Campued State seismologists have located the source of the powerful offshore earthquake that jolted northern Cebu and the rest of Visayas on Sept....

PBBM: Launch of new dairy farm to boost local milk production, supply

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos | Philippine News Agency President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday expressed optimism that the inauguration of the Farm Fresh Milk...

PBBM leads distribution of various aid to Aeta communities in Pampanga

By Brian Campued In celebration of the National Indigenous Peoples Month this October, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the turnover of various forms of...