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A look into EJ Obiena's historic 6-meter jump

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Rom Anzures, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Pole vaulter EJ Obiena competes in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Camboadia on May 8, 2023 on the way to winning a gold. POC/PSC Media" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/06/12/20230508-sea-games-ej-obiena-poc1-jpg.jpg"/><figcaption>Pole vaulter EJ Obiena competes in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Camboadia on May 8, 2023 on the way to winning a gold. POC/PSC Media</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA -- After joining an exclusive club, the sky is the limit for Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena. The Olympian, who made history after joining an elite list of athletes who have cleared a six-meter jump, opened up on how he fulfilled his dream en route to capturing gold in the Bergen Jump Challenge last Saturday.&quot;It feels good, it sounds really good. I&#x27;m happy about it. I said I wanted to jump it, I&#x27;m very happy that I was able to keep my word and be able to do it,&quot; he said in an interview with ABS-CBN&#x27;s Dyan Castillejo&quot;Promise kept,&quot; he added. &quot;To be able to be one of the few athletes that were able to jump over six meters, and be the first Asian to have ever done it, it&#x27;s a dream come true,&quot; Obiena bared on what the achievement meant for him.He also shared what went through his mind while completing his first attempt at six meters in the event.&quot;If I go back and slow it down, when I left the pole, I was waiting for my body to hit the bar. I was like: &#x27;I&#x27;m gonna hit this&#x27;, then just like: &#x27;Wait, I&#x27;m not hitting it!&#x27; And then the moment I landed, it took some time to sink in,&quot; the three-time SEA Games gold medalist said.And Obiena went on to tell how he exploded with emotions as he approached his mentor Vitaly Petrov.&quot;Okay, I&#x27;m on the lead. I started to think: &#x27;I just made six meters.&#x27; Then I started to lose it, I made eye contact with Vitaly, and then I just started running [towards him]. I was still composed, but the moment I hugged Vitaly, I just started tearing up. I told him thank you so much.&quot;His coach was similarly delighted at his feat, but Petrov was also quick to remind Obiena that there is plenty of work to be done.&quot;He&#x27;s happy. After the meet, he said to me: &#x27;We made one step forward, that&#x27;s good. But there are still a lot of things that we need to do. I&#x27;m happy for you. Finally, you&#x27;re officially [a] pole vaulter,&#x27;&quot; Obiena recalled of Petrov&#x27;s words.Obiena bested KC Lightfoot, who mirrored his jump but on two attempts, and Sam Kendricks, who is also a part of the six-meter list. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/11/23/ej-obiena-shatters-asian-record-joins-6-meter-club">EJ Obiena shatters Asian record, joins &#x27;6-meter club&#x27;</a></li></ul>The world&#x27;s No.3 pole vaulter also told Castillejo what was going in his mind ahead of the competition proper.&quot;My mindset going into the six-meter jump is to make it on the first [attempt]. It&#x27;s just a matter of hitting it perfectly, trying not to rush your run, letting that momentum build up until the end, and doing what you need to do and staying tight to the pole.&quot; &quot;That&#x27;s pretty much it. It didn&#x27;t feel like anything special [at first], it felt like a normal jump,&quot; he added.&quot;It should feel normal. I&#x27;ve been trying to stitch it all together. The changes that we decided to do this outdoor season, at least, definitely showed the potential it can bring to the table,&quot; Obiena explained.As proud as he is of his latest achievement, Obiena has already shifted his focus as he competes in more tournaments in preparation for the Paris Qualifiers.&quot;I don&#x27;t think I&#x27;ve perfected it,&quot; said Obiena. &quot;I don&#x27;t think I&#x27;m close to mastering and being consistent with this new technique and new speed, but the potential is definitely there when I&#x27;m able to hit it right.&quot; <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/11/23/joining-6-meter-club-a-dream-come-true-for-ej-obiena">Joining 6-meter club a dream come true for EJ Obiena</a></li></ul>“I&#x27;m happy, but I&#x27;m in the middle of the season, so I cannot be super happy or super joyous. There are a lot of meets around there and hopefully, this is just the start,&quot; he added.He then bared how his mentor is guiding him past their recent victory.&quot;He&#x27;s done this multiple times.&quot;, Obiena said of Petrov. &quot;This is the first time for me, but I&#x27;m the third one [that he&#x27;s handled] I think to jump over six meters. He&#x27;s happy for me, but this morning he was already discussing the things he thinks I can do a lot better.&quot; Still, he didn&#x27;t forget to show appreciation to his fellow countrymen who supported him in Norway.&quot;There are a lot of Filipinos. They were like cheering for me: &#x27;Kaya yan! Kaya yan!&#x27;. I didn&#x27;t realize that there are a lot of Filipinos in Norway,&quot; he said.Obiena&#x27;s next stop is at the Oslo Bislett Games in Norway on June 15, then the Stockholm Diamond League on July 2 which also serves as a Qualifier for the 2024 Paris Games.

A look into EJ Obiena's historic 6-meter jump

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A look into EJ Obiena's historic 6-meter jump

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 12, 2023 02:59 PM PHT

Read More:

pole vault

EJ Obiena

Bergen Jump Challenge

Paris Olympics

Vitaly Petrov

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