Ernest Obiena plucks another pole vault gold medal in Italy
FILE – Obiena exults after clearing 5.71 meters for the championship and the new meet record. —AFP
MANILA, Philippines—Ernest John Obiena reaped another gold medal after ruling the pole vault event at the Citta Padova Atletica Mondiale in Padua, Italy.
The 23-year-old cleared 5.55 meters for the gold, beating out Greece’s Theodo Chrysanthopoulos of Greece (5.3 meters) and Argentina’s German Chiaraviglio (5.3 meters) last Tuesday.
READ: EJ Obiena wins pole vault gold in record fashion
This was Obiena’s second gold medal in a span of four days as he also took the top prize in the 2019 Universiade, where he set a new Philippine record (5.76 meters), in Naples, Italy last week.
Obiena will now travel to Germany for two more meets with the first one in Mossingen on Saturday and Leverkusen on July 24.
READ: EJ Obiena bags 2019 Universiade pole vault gold, sets new PH record
His European stint is part of his preparation for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games hosted by the Philippines from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.
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