One in a zillion

It’s not often that athletes like Manny Pacquiao, Hidilyn Diaz, Caloy Yulo and EJ Obiena emerge in the same lifetime. In their sport, they’re one in a zillion. There will never be another Pacquiao who’s in the record books as the only boxer to win world titles in eight different weight divisions. There will never be another Diaz who was No. 11 in the women’s 58kg weightlifting class at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, crashed out without a score in clean and jerk in the same weight category at the 2012 London Olympics, dropped to 53kg to snatch the silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics then settled at 55kg to strike paydirt at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. There will never be another Yulo who at 19, won the gold in floor exercise at the World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart in 2019 and at 21, bagged the gold in vault at the World Gymnastics Championships in Kitakyushu in 2021. Who would’ve imagined that a 4-11 kid could mesmerize the world in gymnastics?

Then, there’s Obiena who turns 28 on Nov. 17. A few days ago, he was untouchable in pole vault at the Hangzhou Asian Games to deliver the first gold medal for the Philippines. It was the country’s first Asiad athletics medal since 1994 when Elma Muros claimed a bronze in long jump. That broke a wait of 25 years with the Philippines failing to land a podium finish in athletics in six straight Asian Games. It was also the country’s first Asiad athletics gold medal since 1986 when Lydia de Vega reigned supreme in 100 meters. So Obiena’s gold was the Philippines’ first in athletics in the Asian Games in 33 years, ending a drought over eight editions.

Obiena’s gold came with the added glitter of a new Asian Games record of 5.90. At the 2018 Asiad, Obiena finished seventh with a jump of 5.30. His improvement through the years didn’t come by accident. He dedicated himself to get better year after year, isolated from his family in Tondo to live near the training facility, close to his Ukrainian coach Vitaliy Petrov’s home, in Formia, Italy. The records will show how Obiena has progressed exponentially. At the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in 2022, he took third place with a jump of 5.94. This year, at the World