The next EJ Obiena may not be waiting in a major stadium. Maybe, the athletes are somewhere on a small track, waiting for a proper pole vault pit that does not exist.
In 2024, Obiena returned to his old stomping grounds at UST, where he trained alongside young pole vaulters under the tutelage of his father, Emerson, a national team coach and the university's resident track and field mentor.
Under centuries-old trees beside UST's baseball field, Obiena coached the young athletes on a cemented ramp as a crowd of students gathered around them. His instructions flowed between jumps, with the then world No. 5-ranked pole vaulter passing down lessons he had spent years learning himself.
UST is home to one of the few pole vault facilities in Metro Manila, helping the university remain a breeding ground for the sport in the Philippines. Its program has produced Obiena, now a two-time Asian Games gold medalist and one of the world's elite pole vaulters.
But outside a handful of facilities, opportunities for aspiring pole vaulters remain scarce.
"You need to have your track, you need to have the facility, you need to have the landing area," Obiena told ESPN. "Unfortunately, we need access to these facilities, and right now there's none. I'm not going to dilly-dally on that.
"It needs to be better. It's pretty sad, but there's not a facility right now in Manila that's really allowing these kids to train in Manila."
Aside from university fields, the main public spaces available for athletics training in the National Capital Region include the Philsports Complex, formerly known as Ultra, in Pasig City, and the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
Just outside Manila is the Vermosa Sports Hub in Cavite, a 10-hectare private sports complex featuring an nine-lane IAAF-certified 400-meter track oval, a FINA-certified 50-meter Olympic-size pool, and a FIFA-certified football field.
But getting there requires athletes to travel for about 90 minutes from Manila, and this is on top of the cost of accessing the venue.
"It's not openly accessible for everyone," Obiena said, referring to private athletics venues where athletes could train.
"We, unfortunately, don't have the facility to provide to these athletes. That makes me a little bit angry and sad because there are kids; there are a lot of talents that want to pursue [pole vault].
"Unfortunately, this is not basketball, where you could just go to a barangay where there's a basketball court. You need to have your track, you need to have the facility, you need to have the landing area."
Basketball players can find a hoop in almost every community in the country. For pole vaulters, simply having the desire to compete is not enough.
Obiena referenced the need for specialized equipment, a proper runway and, most importantly, a safe landing area for athletes. Coaching is also another gap to fill.
Obiena has tried to fill some of that himself.
In November 2024, he opened a pole vault facility at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. The facility features a pit that meets World Athletics standards, making it suitable for competitions, something that cannot be said for most pole vault pits in the country.
He also plans to open another facility in Tagum City, Davao, for budding athletes in the southern portion of the Philippines.
In 2025, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed the Philippine Sports Commission to open specific government-managed track and field facilities for free public use as part of efforts to promote health and active lifestyles.
For Obiena, however, access is only part of the equation. The facilities also need the right equipment to accommodate athletes competing in specialized events such as pole vault.
"It's a fact," he said.
"Ultra is not possible to jump anymore, and that's what the government has readily accessible. Thankfully, UST has its own facility, but then again it's a private complex.
"We need more public facilities. It's nice that everybody is now open. The public is able to access these training facilities that we have in Manila, but it would even be better if the equipment is there for those specialized athletes and pole vaulters to be able to use."
The search for the Philippines' next athletics star has become a side quest for Obiena over the past two years.
Last year, he helped to organize a world-class pole vault event in the Philippines, namely the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge.
The two-day event in Makati City featured national and collegiate pole vaulters before some of the world's best took center stage on the final day.
Obiena competed alongside world-ranked vaulters Ersu Sasma, Menno Vloon and Thibaut Collet, giving Filipino fans a chance to see the sport at an international level on home soil.
Hokett Delos Santos, a Southeast Asian Games pole vault silver medalist in 2021 behind Obiena, emerged as the local event's winner.
The 23-year-old UST graduate has long been one of Obiena's proteges, having been trained by his father, Emerson, since being recruited from Isabela.
But Delos Santos' path has not been as straightforward as Obiena's.
Delos Santos transitioned to the decathlon for the recent Southeast Asian Games in 2025, after the Philippines' two designated pole vault spots went to Obiena and Filipino-American Elijah Cole.
He went on to win gold in the decathlon, a grueling competition featuring 10 track and field events held over two days.
Now, Delos Santos stands at a crossroads: He can continue pursuing decathlon or return his focus to the pole vault, in which Obiena believes he still has plenty of potential.
"I'm happy if he stays in decathlon, I'm happier if he tries pole vaulting," Obiena said of Delos Santos. "For me, I'm very proud of the kid to be able to carve his own path and find his calling and his life choices." "To pursue decathlon and pole vault is a big leap. It's a huge challenge.
"Hopefully, we'll find another kid [who] would, let's say, focus on pole vaulting instead and be able to get support and have the path to pursue pole vaulting fully. It might not seem like it, but pole vaulting and decathlon are two completely different sports."
Delos Santos returned to pole vaulting in May, and he cleared 5.10 meters in Busan, South Korea. His personal best remains 5.15 meters.
"I think what the guy has shown us is he's capable of doing what he sets out his mind to do," Obiena said of DelosSantos.
"That's something I'm truly proud of. That's the trait of a champion. That's very well-rewarded in the field of sport. He has that mindset."
Delos Santos may or may not become the next great Filipino pole vaulter, but Obiena knows that is not entirely the point.
What matters is having enough young athletes coming through the system so that the Philippines does not have to wait for another once-in-a-generation talent to appear.
That means building facilities, creating local competitions and giving young athletes a reason to believe that pole vaulting can become more than a hobby or a short-lived pursuit.
On a grander scale, that also means creating a path that exists after Obiena is far from his athletic prime.
"I hope there's going to be more [competitions], and more about the sport," Obiena said.
"I think time will tell.
"There are a couple of plans that have been coordinated, let's put it that way. Hopefully more than one, and maybe we're going to try to use pole vaulting to showcase what we have in the country."
