By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipino pole vaulting star EJ Obiena is currently on a roll after clinching back-to-back gold medals in Poland on June 23, 2024, in Poznan.
Four days after reigning supreme in the Irena Szewinska Memorial tournament in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Obiena showed his consistency and endurance after following it up with another gold in the Memorial Czeslawa Cybulskiego tournament.
Obiena capped off his championship campaign with a title-clinching score of 5.87 meters which was enough to fend off the tough challenge from nine other competitors.
The 28-year-old ace quickly went off to a scorching hot start after only needing one attempt to cruise past the 5.62 and the 5.77 meters height.
After his two magical jumps, Obiena didn’t stop dazzling the crowd and wowed them with one try to go over the 5.87 meters height.
With three more tries remaining before activating his foul, Obiena attempted to break his own Asian record of 6.00 meters and went for the 6.01 meters height.
Unfortunately, Obiena used up all of his fouls and was unsuccessful in breaking another record in Poland.
Placing behind Obiena in the competition was Piotr Lisek who managed to tally 5.82 meters for the silver while the bronze medal went to Hussain Al-Hizam of Saudi Arabia who scored 5.62 meters.
Obiena’s pair of stunning victories in Poland followed his win at the Los Angeles Grand Prix on May 19, 2024.
In Los Angeles, Obiena topped the score sheet with a height of 5.80 meters, outpacing seven other competitors from different nations. He was the only athlete to clear 5.80 meters, capping off his impressive routine with another convincing finish.
