EJ Obiena honors coach Vitaly Petrov after latest lifetime award

MANILA, Philippines—Filipino pole vaulting ace EJ Obiena showed gratitude to his longtime coach Vitaly Petrov, who received a prestigious award from the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday.

Petrov was bestowed the IOC Coaches’ Lifetime Achievement Award in Lausanne, Switzerland for his “long-standing dedication to their respective sports and the athletes they coach.” He was awarded alongside Great Britain’s Aquatics head coach Jane Figueiredo.

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Obiena is among the many pole vaulters that Petro has mentored in a list that includes legends of the sport like Sergey Bubka.

READ: Legend-maker Vitaly Petrov will plan EJ Obiena’s Olympic blueprint at season’s end

“I would never just characterize Vitaly Petrov as a great pole vault coach. No! This would be selling the man short,” Obiena, a two-time Olympian, wrote of Petrov.

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“He is a great coach of human beings. He uses pole vaulting as a means to improve people’s lives, [including] my life. Yes, he has made me a better vaulter but he has made me a better human being.”

Petrov has trained Obiena since 2014 .

Through thick and thin, the tandem of Obiena and Petrov has stayed intact through the years even during the embezzlement issue in 2021.

READ: Vitaly Petrov blasts Patafa for dropping ‘son’ EJ Obiena

Staying together has certainly benefited Obiena as he would go on to participate in back-to-back Olympics in Tokyo in 2011 and Paris  just this year  under the tutelage of Petrov.

Obiena also paid tribute to Petrov with his fits during the IOC awards night, wearing his signature “Petrov face”-themed socks, which he also wore in this year’s Olympics where he ended up fourth in the men’s pole vault finals.

“[He] gave me a better shot at life. And this [award] is the ultimate measure of greatness.”