Obiena Breaks Record

Wins Asian Athletics Pole Vault Gold

MANILA, Philippines — EJ Obiena took the pole vault gold in the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar in a record-breaking performance last Sunday, auguring well for his gold-medal bid in the Southeast Asian Games the country will host late this year.

The 23-year-old Obiena registered 5.71 meters in besting a pair of heavily favored Chinese rivals in Zhang Wei and Huang Bokai, who each posted 5.66m to settle for the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Zhang, an Asian Indoor silver medalist who won the last staging of this event in Wuhan, China two years ago, and Huang, a former Asian Junior champion and 2016 Asian Indoor gold medal winner, were leading in the first three attempts before Obiena vaulted his way to the top in the final three tries.

It was an effort that set a new Asian Athletics Championship record, erasing Obiena’s own national mark of 5.61m he set in the Stabhochsprung Classic in Leverkusen, Germany two years ago and earning him a spot in the World Championships in September also in Doha.

The winning effort boosted Obiena’s SEAG bid as he surpassed the current record of 5.35 set by reigning SEAG gold medal winner Porranot Purahong of Thailand in the 2017 edition of the biennial meet in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Interestingly, Obiena wound up with just a silver behind Purahong.

This time, he hopes to finally strike gold.

Athletics chief Philip Ella Juico, who is also in Doha, said Obiena’s feat is vindication for them.

“We at PATAFA feel vindicated by the victory of EJ. He has been training overseas since he was 18 years old when he got the IAAF scholarship upon hitting the 5.0-meter mark,” said Juico.

“Six years later, he jumped 5.71m. This success was made possible through long-term, not token short term investments, and the persistence of PATAFA and the Obiena family in supporting EJ,” he added.

Juico thanked Ayala Corp., the Philippine Sports Commission and Dubai-based philanthropist Jim Lafferty for the support.