By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
EJ Obiena recorded his highest leaping mark of the year so far with 5.92 meters and clinched another gold medal during the recently concluded Taby Stavhoppsgala pole vaulting competition held in Sweden.
Despite getting sidelined due to COVID-19 for several weeks, the Filipino pole vaulting sensation showed no signs of rust and was only a centimeter short of tying his Asian record.
Obiena’s competing schedule had to go through a major tweak after missing the Oslo Bislett Games in Norway and the Meeting de Paris in France but bounced back in a big way in Sweden.
It was a shaky start for the Filipino after needing two attempts to get past the 5.82-meter height and was behind Brazil’s Thiago Braz who only tried once to complete the round.
Eager to take the top spot and put himself in a comfortable position, Obiena completed his winning 5.92-meter height during his second try while Braz failed all three attempts.
Simen Guttorsmen from Norway settled for the bronze medal with 5.72 meters while Australia’s Kurtis Marschall, Great Britain’s Harry Coppell, and USA’s Luke Winder all finished with 5.62 meters.
Obiena went on and attempted to break his Asian record when he opted to leap over the 6.01-meter height but was unsuccessful after tallying three fouls on his tries.
With another gold medal in his bag, Obiena’s points are expected to be given a boost once again and may sit on a higher rank in the international men’s pole vaulting.
Obiena is currently preparing for the upcoming 2022 Stockholm Diamond League and will be staying in Sweden.
