OBIENA SHOOTS FOR EARLY TICKET TO PARIS OLYMPICS

Mondo’s hometown in Sweden. Obiena, the three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, aims to qualify as soon as possible in the world’s grandest sporting show on earth at the start of the athletics’ Olympic qualifying season beginning Saturday (July 1) up to June 30 next year. He will be jumping along with the world’s elite pole vaulters headed by world record holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Thiago Braz da Silva of Brazil in the Diamond League’s athletics series Bauhaus-Galan meet in Stockholm, Sweden. Jim Lafferty, the longtime adviser of the World’s No. 3 pole vaulter, said that Obiena’s first Olympic qualifying tournament is definitely important, but he expects him to take the competition with enough confidence.

“It’s important for multiple reasons. It’s the Diamond League. We take EJ’s participation for granted now. But let’s keep the perspective,” Lafferty told BusinessMirror prior to his flight to Stockholm on Friday.

He’s the only Filipino athlete to ever participate. It’s by invitation only and typically the top 15 in the world ranking is required. Just to be there says to the world, I am among the best of the best,” he added.

A side from the pole vault king Mondo, Obiena and Thiago, the other participants include world elites French Renaud Lavillenie, Belgian Ben Broeders, Norwegian Sondre Guttormsen and Pal Haugen Lillefosse and Australian Kurtis Marschall.

Coming from a historic 6.0-meter achievement in Bruggen, Norway on June 10, the 27-year-old World Championships bronze medalist has what it takes to be the first Filipino athlete to qualify for the Olympics beginning July 26 to August 11.

If Obiena will jump 5.82-m— the pole vault’s Olympic qualifying standard, he will be the first Filipino to qualify for the Paris Games next year at the start of the Olympic qualifying campaign in Stockholm on Sunday,” Lafferty said.