EJ Obiena reigns supreme in Poland tilt

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

EJ Obiena’s convincing international tournament campaign continued after he captured the gold medal at the recently concluded Czeslaw Cybulski Memorial in Poznan, Poland, on June 29, 2026.

With the win, Obiena bagged his fourth gold medal of the 2026 tournament calendar, picking up where he left off after ruling the International Jump-Meeting Cottbus, the 12th Asian Indoor Athletic Championships, and the Berlin ISTAF Indoor.

Obiena cleared 5.72 meters to clinch the title, edging Britain’s Owen Heard and Italy’s Matteo Oliveri, who claimed the silver and bronze, respectively.

The Filipino pole-vaulting sensation had a confident start in the tournament, skipping the opening height of 5.25 meters to brace for the next hurdle.

Obiena officially kicked off the competition by leaping over 5.40 meters, which he did with ease after needing only a single attempt.

However, Obiena experienced a minor scare at 5.60 meters, needing two tries to clear the height before skipping 5.67 meters to set up his golden leap.

With Heard and Oliveri stuck at 5.60 meters, Obiena decided to go for 5.72 meters and successfully cleared the bar on his second attempt.

Obiena is currently enjoying one of his best starts in the international tournament calendar after collecting his seventh overall medal since kicking off 2026 with a bronze in Dusseldorf, Germany.

“Happy with the progress,” Obiena posted on his official social media accounts.

“The height and numbers are yet to come but happy to come away with the gold here at Memorial Czeslawa Cybulskiego and thank you for having me. On to the next.”

Obiena aims to sustain his momentum on July 5, 2026, when he returns to compete in the Fly Athens Street Pole Vault Tournament in Greece.

Brief explanation: I corrected tense consistency, phrasing around attempts and heights, nationality references, and changed “Onto the next” to “On to the next” for proper usage. No currency values appeared in the draft.