EJ Obiena set to compete In Diamond League Xiamen

(UPDATE) FILIPINO pole vault ace Ernest John "EJ" Obiena continues his outdoor season as he competes at the Xiamen leg of the Diamond League in China on April 26.

The Xiamen leg is the first of the Diamond League's 15 stops which ends in the final in Zurich, Switzerland in August.

In preparation for the said tournament as well as its Shanghai leg and the Asian Championships in South Korea, Obiena, 29, set up his training camp here in the Philippines for the first time.

Trained by former Olympic gold medalist Vitaly Petrov, Obiena, who used to train in Italy, has been training at the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus, Cavite.

"Preparations and training has been done in the heat of the Philippines," Obiena wrote on Saturday in a social media post accompanied by a montage of his training videos at the aforementioned facility.

"It's time to suit up and join the first leg of the Diamond Athletics happening next week in Xiamen, China. Let's get it," added the world No. 4 pole vaulter.

Obiena takes on a field of familiar faces in Xiamen bannered by reigning World and Olympic champ Armand Duplantis of Sweden, the top-ranked pole vaulter who sports the world record of 6.26-m clearance.

Paris Olympics silver medalist Sam Kendricks of the United States and bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece is also competing in Xiamen.

Completing the 11-man field are Ben Broeders of Belgium, Sondre Guttormsen of Norway, Kurtis Marschall of Australia, Ersu Sasma of Turkey, Menno Vloon of The Netherlands, and home bets Huang Bokai and Li Chenyang.

Obiena last saw action at the Taiwan International Pole Vault Championships where he won the gold last month with a 5.50m clearance in his third attempt, taking a literal leap of faith amid the foggy conditions at the Sun Moon Lake area.