EJ Obiena set for indoor pole vault return in 2024
2024-Feb-19 11:27
2024-Jul-14 15:50
PHOTO: EJ Obiena/Facebook
Ernest John "EJ" Obiena is back this 2024 for more pole vault action.
The second-ranked Filipino pole vaulter announced on social media his return to the track after a successful 2023 campaign that saw him bag numerous medals and break records.
Obiena, who was named Athlete of the Year of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) last January, seeks to continue his winning ways by achieving favorable results in three competitions.
His first stop was the Memorial Josip Gasparac in Osijek, Croatia on February 20, followed by the ISTAF Indoor on February 23 in Berlin, Germany.
These two tournaments served as a buildup for the Tondo, Manila native's participation in the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland on March 3.
Last year, the son of former Philippine pole vaulter Emerson Obiena made headlines with his unrivaled achievements.
In June 2023, Obiena became the latest member of the elite six-meter club during the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway. He is the first-ever Asian to do so in pole vault history.
Obiena also won the country's maiden World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary after copping the silver with another six-meter vault.
The University of Santo Tomas standout delivered landmark leaps in various international tilts.
He began his record-breaking performances in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, leaping 5.65 meters for a third consecutive gold in the biennial meet. Then, Obiena erased his previous best of 5.71 m after surpassing the 5.91-meter bar for a second Asian Athletics Championships crown in a row. Come the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, the 28-year-old Filipino pole vaulting ace clinched his first Asiad title on a jaw-dropping 5.90 m leap to reset the quadrennial meet mark of 5.70 m, previously held by Japan's Seito Yamamoto.
This 2024, his mission is to bring home a medal from the French capital, particularly the gold against the almighty Armand Duplantis of Sweden.