HAVING gotten rid of the flu bug, Ernest John Obiena returns to action this Friday (Saturday morning in Manila) in the 10th leg of the Wanda Diamond League, the Herculis EBS meet, at the Stade Louis II in the European city state of Monaco.
“I feel good, I am finally getting into the rhythm of things. I have finally got the flu out of the way,” said Obiena in an online press conference yesterday announcing the staging of the Ayala Atleta World Pole Vault Challenge on Sept. 21 at the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati.
“I am finally competing in four days in Monaco. I am starting to jump where I could be, although I am not totally there yet. But definitely, I’m going in the right direction,” the athlete said of his present condition.
Boasting an Asian and national record best of six meters, the Pinoy vaulter has had an uneven outdoor season, retaining his Asian meet crown in Gumi, South Korea last May 31 with a jump of 5.77 meters, then slumped to 5th place in clearing 5.66 meters at the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands nine days later.
In his last outing, Obiena jumped 5.70 meters for seventh place at the BAUHAUS-Galan meet on June 15 in Stockholm, Sweden, where hometown bet Duplantis set a new world record of 6.28 meters.
The two-time Olympian is hopeful he will be primed to do his best in the Monaco meet, considering that last year he took the silver in the same competition with a jump of 5.82 meters while the seemingly invincible Duplantis wound up in fourth spot with a mediocre jump of 5.72 meters.
