‘Amazing’ Obiena asiad-ready

Ernest John Obiena is moving on from his Southeast Asian Games heartbreak last year.

And he’s got new records to show for it.

The 23-year-old Obiena, who suffered a career-threatening injury on the eve of his departure for the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, surpassed the biennial meet’s gold medal standard in pole vault twice over the weekend in Europe.

Obiena cleared 5.45 meters in the Golden Spike competitions on June 13 in the Czech Republic, surpassing the 5.35m gold medal effort of Thailand’s Porranot Purshong in last year’s SEA Games.

Three days later, Obiena vaulted to 5.51 at the International Stabboc Spring Meeting at Zweibrucken Westpfalz-Stadium in Germany.

Already, athletics chief Philip Ella Juico said the University of Santo Tomas Electronics and Communications Engineering major is ready for the Asian Games in Jakarta this August.

“EJ’s amazing performance brings him within striking distance of a podium finish in the Asian Games, where the record for the gold medal was 5.65 done in Hiroshima, and 5.70 in the Asian championship in Manila in 2003,” Juico said.

Obiena finished seventh in a field of 12 in the German meet where two Chinese vaulters finished ahead of the Filipino, Bokai Huang (5.61m) and Jin Yao, who also cleared 5.51m but made the height in his first attempt.

It was only the third competition for Obiena since he started recovering from ACL injury. He is based in Formia, Italy, since last month. He will compete in more European meets before flying to Jakarta.