EJ Obiena wins pole vault gold in record fashion

EJ Obiena, center, with Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico and Patafa official Edward Kho. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Ernest John Obiena bagged the men’s pole vault gold medal in the ongoing 23rd Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

The country’s premier pole vaulter cleared 5.71 meters, setting a new Asian championship record and beating China’s Wei Zhang and Bokai Huang in the process.

Son of former pole vault great Emerson Obiena, the 23-year-old failed to hurdle 5.76 meters but the effort hardly mattered for him to seal the fate of his rivals.

Zhang found the 5.71m elevation just too high and fumbled thrice while Huang wasn’t able to overcome the same height twice before trying his luck at 5.76 that also ultimately led to failure.

With his splendid performance, Obiena qualified to the world championships in September in Doha and eclipsed his national record of 5.55 meters achieved in the Singapore Open Championships two years ago.