ERNEST JOHN “EJ” OBIENA wore a yellow-over-blue tape around his left wrist as he jumped to a silver medal he dedicated to war-torn Ukraine on Sunday at the Perche Elite Tour at the Complexe Kindarena in Rouen, France.
Although he missed the gold medal, Obiena’s leap of 5.91 meters was the Tokyo Olympian’s personal and season best in indoor pole vault competitions.
“I feel good and happy about it,” Obiena told BusinessMirror via an exclusive video call on Sunday.
The tape around his wrist was Obiena’s way of showing deep sympathy for Ukraine, a feeling that’s deeply personal to him—his coach, the legendary Vitaly Petrov, is Ukrainian.
“I am not knowledgeable of what’s happening there [Ukraine], but being silent and not speaking up never really help the abused,” Obiena said. “If we keep our silence, we don’t stand up for the one who is being abused and maltreated.”
“It was very touching. I received a lot of messages from my Ukrainian friends after my performance,” the 26-year-old Obiena said.
Besides Petrov, Obiena counts Ukrainian high jumpers Yuliya Levchenko, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Andriy Protsenko as among his close friends in the athletics world.
Russia’s invasion of Ukranian has been ongoing for more than a week and the global sporting community have reacted negatively against the war, with several world-class Ukrainian athletes taking up arms.
Chris Nilsen of the United States cleared 6:05-meter to win gold in Rouen. Thiago da Silva, the Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalist, also made 5.91 meters but ended up third after the countback.
Obiena’s outdoor personal best of 5.93 meters he set in the 17th International Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck last September stands as the Asian men’s record.
The world No. 5 said he sympathizes deeply with Petrov.
“I feel for him in the last few days, he’s not in the right frame of mind,” he said. “But he’s still focused on training but obviously, he’s stressed.”
Obiena recently won gold medals in the ongoing indoor season with leaps of 5.81 meters at the Orlen Cup and Orlen Copernicus Cup in Poland.
But another challenge awaits Obiena on Monday when mediation proceedings with the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) get underway.
Incidentally, Monday is the World Athlertics’ deadline for registration of qualified athletes to the world indoor championships in Belgrade set later this month.
Obiena’s 5.81-meter jump in Poland qualified him for the worlds but the Patafa turned down his request for endorsement pending the mediation.