EJ Obiena wins second gold in seven days with Orlen Cup victory
FILE – Ernest Obiena of the Philippines competes during the Mondo Classic pole vault competition in gala format at the IFU Arena in Uppsala, Sweden, on February 2, 2023. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP)
EJ Obiena ruled the 2023 Orlen Cup in Lodz, Poland on Sunday, the Filipino pole vault star’s second victory in a series of tournaments at the ongoing European indoor season.
The world’s No. 3 vaulter hurled himself to a clearance of 5.77 meters, defeating Sam Kendricks (5.70m) of the United States and nine other participants.
“Happy to take the win🥇 here today in Łódź @orlencup. It was a difficult battle, both physically and mentally,” Obiena posted on social media.
“Now we rest and recover for @copernicus_cup on the 8th of February,” he added.
Only two days ago, Obiena tied his personal and national indoor mark of 5.91 meters at the Mondo Classic in Uppsala, Sweden where he picked up third place behind Armand Duplantis of Sweden and American KC Lightfoot.
The Italy-based Obiena opened his indoor season with a silver medal at the Internationales Springer-Meeting in Cottbus, Germany last week before seizing his first title of the year at the Perche en Or in France with a 5.82-meter effort.
Obiena was forced to skip the Asian Indoor meet in Astana, Kazakhstan on February 10-12 due to logistical difficulties concerning his poles and will compete instead at the Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland on February 8.
