Hindi napigilang maging emosyunal ng pambato ng Pilipinas na si EJ Obiena, matapos mabigong makasungkit ng medalya sa Paris Olympics.
Martes ng madaling-araw, August 6, 2024 (Philippine time), sumabak si EJ sa finals ng men's pole vault, kunsaan nagtapos siya sa ikaapat na puwesto.
Una niyang na-clear ang 5.50 meters, at nalampasan din niya ang 5.70 meters.
Nagpatuloy siya sa 5.80 meters, pero nabigo siya sa kanyang unang attempt.
Sa puntong ito, nagpasya si EJ na mag-skip ng 5.80 meters.
Nagpatuloy siya agad sa 5.90 meters na tagumpay niyang na-clear sa unang attempt.
Ngunit sa kasamaang-palad, iyon na ang huling matagumpay na attempt ni EJ.
Sa sumunod na round na 5.95 meters ay bigo na niya itong natalon, matapos ang tatlong attempts.
Nabigo rin siyang pumasok sa Top 3 at magkaroon ng medalya.
Read: EJ Obiena finishes fourth in Paris Olympics men's pole vault
Sa kabila nito, malaking improvement para kay EJ ang nakuhang fourth ranking dahil hindi hamak na mas mataas ito sa 11th ranking niya sa Tokyo Olympics noong 2020.
EJ: "It's not something I'm aiming for."
Matapos ang kanyang laban, nakapanayam ng One Sports PH si EJ.
Dito ay sinabi niyang disappointed siya sa kanyang sarili na hindi makapag-uwi ng medalya para sa bansa.
Aniya: "It’s painful. I missed a medal by one jump and it wasn’t far on all my attempts at 5.95 [meters]. Disappointed, definitely.
"There’s a lot of things that happened this year. I’m thankful I got to the final, definitely. But at the same time, I’m disappointed because it wasn’t far.
"It’s like literally the same height and I missed it by one attempt. One attempt to an Olympic medal."
Dahil sa nangyari, tingin daw ni EJ ay may pagkukulang siya, kahit pakiramdam nito ay ginawa niya ang lahat ng kanyang makakaya.
Sabi niya: "I think just consistency overall. I missed one attempt.
"Sports is beautiful but also brutal. I understand that. [It’s the] consistency I’m lacking.
"I felt like I needed a little bit more time, but it’s the Olympics, it’s not going to wait for anybody. I’m just here doing everything that I can.
"Even with the fourth place, I’ve done everything I can. I’m proud of the effort of my team, myself, and everybody that made this possible.
"But it doesn’t make it less painful.
"Because it's not something I expected. It's not something I'm aiming for."
EJ apologizes after "painful" finish
Masaya raw si EJ sa kanyang mga kaibigang pole vaulters na nakakamit ng medalya, ngunit sa kabilang banda ay hindi maitatago ang kanyang lungkot at panghihinayang.
"I’m happy for everybody who got the medal, they deserve it. I’m happy for my friends.
"But it doesn’t give me a little bit of shade of less pain.
"I think you can feel both emotions at the same time and, yeah, I'm still processing them," saad niya.
Read: Chloe San Jose reacts to interview of Carlos Yulo's mother
Sa huli, humingi ng paumanhin si EJ sa mga Pilipinong umasang maiuuwi niya ang ikatlong gintong medalya sana ng Pilipinas buhat sa Paris Olympics.
Emosyonal niyang mensahe, "I apologize. I promised I’m gonna go back after Tokyo and do better. I did, but it didn’t change in my book. I still came up short.
"I’m really sorry. I apologize for it."
Labing-isang pole vaulters ang nakalaban ni EJ sa finals kabilang na ang world number one at record holder na si Armand Duplantis mula sa Sweden.
Si Duplantis ang nakasungkit ng gold medal nang nakapagtala ito ng bagong Olympics world record at personal record na rin na 6.25 meters.
Habang si Sam Kendricks ng USA (5.95 meters) naman ang nakakuha ng silver medal, at bronze medal naman si Emmanouil Karalis ng Greece (5.90 meters).
OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL FOR PHILIPPINES
Samantala, habang isinusulat ang artikulong ito ay nakadalawang gintong medalya na ang Pilipinas sa Paris Olympics, courtesy of Carlos Yulo.
Read: Carlos Yulo reveals plans for incentives after double gold feat
Noong Sabado, August 3, nasungkit ni Carlos ang unang gintong medalya para sa Pilipinas, nang hirangin siyang champion sa men's floor exercise.
Read: Carlos Yulo takes home the gold in Olympic men's floor exercise
Nasundan pa ito nang muling nagkamit ng gold medal si Carlos sa men's vault finals, Linggo ng gabi, August 4.
Read: Carlos Yulo wins back-to-back gold medals for the Philippines