Junior vaulter Obiena gets higher level of training

From Ernest John Obiena's Facebook page. 
Filipino junior pole vault champion Ernest John Obiena is currently honing his skills in Italy under the supervision of veteran coach Vitaly Opanasovich Petrov of Ukraine, who helped train three world champions including multiple world record holder Sergey Bubka.

The 18-year-old Obiena left with his father, coach, and former Philippine pole vault champion Emerson last week to train with Petrov, 76, at the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) World Pole Vault Center in Formia in Italy.

The Ateneo sophomore earned the chance to train under Petrov through Bubka after the six-time world champion and IAAF vice president promised to help him if he clears the five-meter mark in any competition.

Obiena, who finished fourth in the 2013 Myanmar Southeast Asian Games, achieved the feat during the 21st Taiwan Nantou Indoor International Pole Vault Championship in Nantou, Chinese Taipei last month where he broke the junior’s and men’s indoor records in the process.

He broke the 4.95-m national juniors’ and 4.93-m national men’s records to become the second Filipino pole vaulter to clear five meters next to Filipino-American Edward Lasquete in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games.

Obiena is expected to return on July 14 but his father said that he might compete in the 16th Asian Junior Athletics Championship from June 12 to 16 at the Taipei Municipal Stadium in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei.

“We’re hoping the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) would fund EJ’s trip to the Asian juniors. Personally, I’m hoping the standoff between the PSC and the [Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association] would also end, so we could focus more on the development of our athletes,” said the older Obiena.

“EJ can reach a world-class level if given the proper support and training technique. An opportunity to train in Italy will be a big help to him in the hopes of representing the country in other athletics events,” he added.

Aside from Bubka, Olympic and world champions Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia, Italian Giuseppe Gibilisco, and Brazil’s Fabiana Murer were also products of Petrov.

Among the four, Bubka was the most celebrated athlete after breaking the world pole vault record 35 times, 17 in outdoor and 18 indoor tournaments, and became the first to clear 6.0 and 6.10 meters, respectively.

Bubka’s 6.15m world record mark was unbreakable for 21 years until Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie cleared 6.16 on February 15, 2014.

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