21/07/2023
LETS CONGRATS HIM 🥰
Filipino pole vaulter Ernest “EJ” Obiena struck gold and established a new jump record of 5.91 meters at the 25th Asian Athletics Championships last Sunday in Bangkok, Thailand.
The 27-year-old Filipino olympian reclaimed the top as he held the competition record of 5.71 meters in the 2019 edition of the tournament.
EJ Obiena started his first jump at 5.51-meter before sweeping the 5.56-meter and jumped at 5.66 meters in just an attempt. After that jump, the world’s No. 3, showed that he is remarkable among the rest at the Asian level as he topped his record of 5.71-meter in the same tournament and cleared the 5.80-meter mark in one jump.
Trying to break his personal record of 6.0 meters, Obiena tried to post a new personal and Asian record of 6.02-meter, however, failed to clear in his three attempts.
Hussein Assem Al Hizam of Saudi Arabia landed the silver medal after he cleared the 5.56 meters and China’s Bokai Huang completed the podium as he clinched the bronze to Tomoya Karasawa of Japan at the 5.51-meter bar.
Following his back-to-back gold medal in the tournament, Obiena is listed in the elite club of Filipino athletes who bagged multiple gold medals in the Asian Athletic Championships, including Isidro del Prado, Amelita Alanes, and Lydia De Vega
After this Asian Athletic Championships, the medal streak of EJ Obiena continues as he first bagged his gold medal at the SEA games and stretched his personal and new Asian record of 6.0-meter at the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway.
Booking his ticket for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena aced 5.82-meter bar and clinched silver at the Bauhaus-Galan last July 3. Then, cleared 5.72 meters at the Meeting International de Sotteville on July 8 for back-to-back silver before dominating the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships at 5.91-meter.
Written by: Axel Adame
Pubmat by: Jefferson Ortiz
