RAISING THE BAR

Four Filipino men embody the resilience and determination to return to the track stronger, overcoming immense pressure to represent the country and secure their place on the Olympic podium

- JASON INOCENCIO

This 2024 marks a century of Philippine participation in the Olympic Games. Ironically, the first time the country sent athletes to the Olympiad in 1924, Paris, France was also the host city. It took almost a month for that first contingent of Filipino athletes to travel from Manila to Paris a century ago. It would take 97 years before a Filipino would finally win Olympic gold.

In the century since that first Paris Olympiad, a new generation of Filipinos has been training and preparing their minds and bodies in the hopes of repeating what weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz accomplished at the Tokyo Olympics. Pole vaulter EJ Obiena, boxer Eumir Marcial, gymnast Carlos Yulo, and weightlifter John Ceniza are some of the athletes who will carry the Philippine colors in hopes of bringing honor once again to the Philippines.

THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE

What has not been said already about Ernest John (EJ) Obiena? The Tondo-born pole vaulter has dominated Asian competition in recent years and has consistently been ranked #2 globally. Marking a golden age for Obiena’s chosen discipline of pole vaulting, his achievements position him as a formidable contender in global athletics, making his pursuit of gold at the Paris Olympics.

His main competition also happens to be a friend in Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, whose record-breaking achievements have pushed the bar higher than anyone else in history. “He has lifted the sport to a level it’s never been,” Obiena says of his rival. “And he’s pulling everyone with him. That’s the good side of it. The bad side of it is that jumping as high as six meters now would not mean a win.”