FOR his recent strong showing in the Orlen Cup in Lodz, Poland, Olympian pole-vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena has secured a spot to the World Indoor Championships slated for March 18-20 in Belgrade, Serbia and the World Championships set on July 15-24 in Eugene, Oregon.

The World No. 5 registered his season-best 5.81 meters in reigning supreme in Lodz and securing spots to two of the biggest competitions in the world next to the Olympics.

After the feat, the Asian record-holder and Southeast Asian Games gold medalist attributed it to him overcoming adversity.

“As I observe the best in athletics, a key element of being a true champion is managing adversity,” said Mr. Obiena in his Facebook post. “I have my share of adversity as everyone knows.

“But so does everyone else. The name of the game is to keep showing up and keep trying,” he added.

Mr. Obiena is looking at eclipsing his personal best 5.93m — currently the national and Asian mark — he set in the Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria last year as he competes in more events including the Meeting Hauts-de-France Friday in Lievin, France.

Mr. Obiena is coming off an operation that fixed his torn meniscus and the current spat with the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association.

But he set all of it aside and showed tremendous poise and focus.

Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham Tolentino lauded Mr. Obiena for his effort.

“EJ is a true athlete and his performance in Poland is testament to his love, dedication, and passion for his sport despite the issues he’s been going through outside of the playing field. EJ displayed pure focus in winning the gold medal, his first for the season,” said Mr. Tolentino. — Joey Villar

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