EJ Obiena yet to decide on 2028 LA Olympics return: 'I need time to process and absorb everything'

EJ Obiena has yet to decide whether he is returning to give the Olympics another shot in Los Angeles, California in 2028 following a heartbreaking run in the 2024 Paris Olympics that saw him fall just short of a podium finish. 

The 28-year-old Filipino pole vaulter stressed he is still absorbing how his second Olympic stint had turned out after he came so close to a medal and settled at fourth place after three failed attempts at 5.95 meter-mark. 

And the possibility of him completing the unfinished business four years from now is not something that Obiena is thinking about right now. 

"I think it’s too early. I can’t give anything right now. I cannot promise something that I can’t commit to. I really need to process this a little bit more," Obiena said to the Philippine Olympic Committee media, including GMA Integrated News' JP Soriano, shortly after the competition.

"We’ll see how it goes. I think I’ve done a lot in the sport, but coming in fourth doesn’t make it nice. I’m not saying no, I’m not saying yes."

"I need time to process and absorb everything."

Obiena, Asia's best and world no. 2, admitted that failing yet again at the Olympic stage is as painful as his Tokyo Olympics bid, where he finished at 11th spot. 

He easily took off and cleared the first two heights at 5.50 and 5.70 meters before committing a first foul on the 5.80m bar. After skipping, he soared past the 5.85 and 5.90 meters to keep his contention alive. 

But he saw the end of the road at the next height, failing to clear the 5.95m-mark after three attempts as he bid his medal hopes goodbye. 

"It’s not the way I wanted it to go. [I] definitely did everything that I could. Life or sport can be beautiful, but at the same time brutal, as you can see," he said. 

"I see it very differently, to be honest. It was still short. I mean, in these meets, what matters is medals. Fourth place is the same as 11th, 12th, and whichever so for me, it’s not that big of a difference. I fell short and that’s it."

Obiena would be 32 by the time the next Olympics gets underway and he said he is uncertain whether he will still have enough fuel to make another jump at the biggest stage. 

"We’ll see. I’ll take it one day at a time. I’ll talk to my team and see if how’s my health overall and let’s see how it goes, if I’m healthy or not doing anymore damage to my self then maybe I’ll continue the season. I don’t really know," he added.

"Right now, I still need to process everything."

—with reports from JP Soriano/JKC, GMA Integrated News