EJ Obiena reveals his father was initially against him being an Olympian
EJ Obiena recalled the time when his father, former pole vaulter Emerson Obiena, was against his dream of being an Olympian.
In his guest appearance on journalist Bernadette Sembrano’s vlog, the pole vault star opened up about his journey, sharing that his bid to the Olympics started when he was young.
EJ, who was trained by his father until he was aged 18, shared that he was able to secure scholarships from high school to college with the sport.
Like other athletes, the 28-year-old has suffered from numerous injuries throughout his career, one of the hardest ones was when he suffered an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury in 2017.
“The hardest conversation I had with my parents was in 2017, it was more of a screaming match I guess,” he began.
At the time, despite being unable to walk and barely standing, he informed his parents that he planned on taking a leave of absence to focus on his dream of being an Olympian.
“I was thinking ‘yung dad ko would actually understand it more ‘cause he was a pole vaulter but no, he was the opposite," he recalled.
"My dad was the one who was like, ‘Are you stupid? You just got an injury, you don’t know if you’re going to get back from that. You’re wasting your future,’” EJ shared.
As a compromise, EJ promised his parents that if he didn’t make it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he would continue his studies.
“I need to still ground myself to reality, if my body can’t anymore, I’ll go back to school,” he said.
He eventually went on to represent the Philippines at the 2020 Olympics, finishing in 11th overall. A couple of years later he competed at the 2024 Paris Games.
Despite that “difficult conversation,” EJ said he couldn’t be more grateful to his parents for caring for him, not just as an athlete, but also as a human.
“I knew they cared, I'm very lucky I'm surrounded by people who care for me more than just me being a guy who can jump over bars, they care for me as an individual, and I know that I’ll hear the things I need to hear, not the things that I want to hear,” he said. “I’m very lucky and blessed.”
For her part, his mom, Jeannette Uy, described EJ as persevering, so as “protective" parents, they supported and prayed for him especially when he was competing.
In the interview, EJ also talked about retirement to spend more time with his family, but the Olympian noted that while he has achieved things in pole vaulting, like becoming the world’s no. 3, he said he’s not yet done with the sports.
He revealed that retirement has been an “overburnt” question in his head, but said, “If it doesn’t make me tick anymore and I’m not gonna be frustrated about it, I think [that’s when I’ll retire], who knows?”
Obiena recently finished fifth in the Diamond League Final and placed fourth overall at the 2024 Paris Olympics.