MANILA, Philippines — EJ Obiena set a new national indoor pole vault record anew on Friday (early Saturday, Manila time) with a silver medal finish at the 2021 Orlen Cup in Lodz, Poland.
Obiena, who broke the national mark already twice this year, tallied another personal and national best when he cleared the 5.86 meter mark in three tries.
This was good enough for a silver medal in the Poland tiff where American Sam Kendricks took the gold.
Obiena tried to take all the marbles trying to clear the 5.91 meter mark but failed in three attempts.
Brazil's Thiago Braz clinched the silver with a 5.80 meter clearance.
The 24-year-old pole vaulter first set the new national record in January where he cleared just 5.62 meters in the Karlsruhe World Indoor Tour Meeting.
He would then shatter this just a week after at the ISTAF Indoor Athletics Meet in Berlin, Germany with a 5.80 meter mark where he took home the gold.
Prior to this Poland tiff, Obiena finished in fifth place at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais in France.
The Tokyo-bound Obiena is expected to join another competition in Poland in the coming weeks as preparation for the Summer Games.