PH Embassy in Rome Lauds Gold Medal Finish of Pole Vaulter EJ Obiena at SEA Games

Filipino Pole Vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena and his Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov visit the Philippine Embassy in Rome after winning and setting a new record in the recently concluded 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia. (Rome PE photo) 

ROME, 01 June 2023 – Filipino champion pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena and his Ukrainian coach, Vitaly Petrov, visited the Philippine Embassy in Rome, Italy on 26 May 2023.  

During the call, Philippine Ambassador-designate to Italy Neal Imperial welcomed Obiena and Petrov to the new chancery and congratulated them for winning the gold medal and setting a new Southeast Asian record in the recently-concluded 2023 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Cambodia. 

Obiena has been training in Italy since meeting the legendary pole vaulter Sergey Bubka in 2013, who introduced to him the opportunity to train under his current coach - also coach of record-breaking athletes Sergey himself and Yelena Isinbayeva.  As Obiena targets his next big goal, the 2024 Paris Olympics, he continues to train in Formia, Italy while joining other European competitions. While training in Italy, Obiena flies back and forth to the Philippines to attend to his studies and compete in international events.

Philippine Ambassador-designate to Italy Neal Imperial thanked Obiena for bringing pride to the country and recognized his extraordinary achievements in the field of pole vaulting, and assured him of the Embassy’s support for his upcoming competitions and athletic career. END

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