MANILA, Philippines — Ernest John “EJ” Obiena is cleared for takeoff.

The Philippine pole vault ace shared on Tuesday night in a social media post that he has fully recovered from his back injury.

He is cleared to practice for his 2025 season.

“Some exciting news I want to share with you all. I am officially cleared by Dr. Alessandro Napoli and fully recovered from my back injury,” wrote Obiena, 28, who holds the Asian record of pole vaulting. 6.0 m of free space.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey. I’ve been MIA (missing in action) here as I’ve been focusing on getting back in shape and ready by January! Here’s to the 2025 season!”

That back injury, specifically a fractured L5 vertebra, forced the reigning Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games champion to end his 2024 season prematurely.

Obiena, world no. 3 pole vaulters, last competed in the Silesia Diamond League where he finished fifth on August 26th.

He was supposed to compete in the ISTAF Berlin, Zurich Diamond League, Diamond League Finals and even the planned international pole vault competition on September 20 here in Manila, but his nagging back injury worsened and forced him not to continue.

Obiena, who finished fourth at the Paris Olympics, therefore had to call it a season after 10 tournaments in which he reached the podium five times.

In an earlier interview with the Manila Times, Obiena expressed his desire to bounce back after an injury-plagued 2024 season.

“It’s been a tough year. I’ll be back, I know. I want to do my best. I don’t join these big competitions just to participate, man, I join to win.”