ERNEST John Obiena will miss the World Indoor Championships starting on March 23 in Nanjing, China, after failing to make the qualifying standard of 5.85 meters with four days left to the cut-off date of March 9, Saturday, the ace pole vaulter announced on his official Facebook page yesterday.
“Even though there is still time to qualify for the World Indoor Championships, there are no more competitions left for me to participate in,” Obiena explained.
“The last competition was on the 16th of February in Torun, Poland and the next one that I got is (the) Mondo Classic on the 13th of March, which is already outside the qualification period,” he added.
“I can promise you all that my team and I have scoured the calendar for possible competitions but no luck. With this, I would inevitably miss the (world indoor) championships.”
Obiena ruled the Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland with a jump of 5.80, or five centimeters – the equivalent of 1.9685 inches – short of the qualifying mark.
His qualifying pathway was made more difficult after Paris Olympic Games bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis set a season best and national record of 6.02 meters to place second behind sensational Swede Mondo Duplantis, who set a new world mark of 5.27 meters in the All-Star Perche meet last Feb. 28 in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Karalis moved up to No. 2 among the top 12 in the World Athletics indoor rankings who will qualify to see action in the Nanjing meet while Obiena went down one rung to No. 16. Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen (5.85) and Belgium’s Ben Broeders (5.82) are at Nos. 11 and 12, respectively.
Obiena, who holds the Asian record of six meters flat, said his recovery from his spine surgery in 2024 had taken its toll, including his stint in the Paris Summer Games, where he was relegated to fourth by Karalis on the countback with a jump of 5.90 meters.
“With limited time to return this indoor season, my results have been far from consistent. Vaulting has been a roller coaster, with huge ups and downs. Being consistent takes repetition after repetition, which takes time,” he pointed out.
The Pinoy athlete explained some of the intricate mechanics that went into performing in his pet event at a high level.
“You must be strong. To bend the pole and glide into the air; you must be fast. This helps create momentum and energy transfer to the pole, enabling greater heights. You need gymnastics skills to handle the movements in the air and over the bar,” he said.
“You need the mental strength to vault fearlessly. Finally, you need time and repetitions to adapt and adjust to the perfect combination. How to ‘put it all together.’”
Rather than ruing about what might have been, Obiena said he is moving forward, saying: “The indoor season is always a backseat to the outdoor season. I will prioritize and prepare for the upcoming outdoor competition.
“This is when I would represent the country in the World Championships, Asian Championships and SEA Games. The key is to go into the outdoor season healthy and ready to compete at the highest level. It is also important to defend what I have already achieved in these championships.”
