EJ Obiena rules 2023 Asian Athletics pole vaulting Championships

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

EJ Obiena is on another level.

After formalizing his spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics several weeks ago when he put up a strong performance during the Bauhaus-Galan meet of the 2023 Wanda Diamond League leg, the Filipino superstar added another gold medal to his collection last July 16, 2023, held at the Suphachalasai Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Obiena was a man on a mission during the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships after clinching the gold medal for the second-straight time.

The Filipino sensation pulled off a masterful performance during his routine and tallied a championship score of 5.91 meters.

Obiena was on his element from the get-go after successfully clearing 5.51m, 5.66m, and 5.80m all with just a single attempt.

Despite breaking his flawless streak of single tries in every height when he needed two attempts to cruise past 5.91m, Obiena still went home with another huge achievement after setting the new Asian Athletics record.

Obiena wasn’t done after his golden leap at 5.91m. The Filipino stalwart set the bar higher and aimed for the 6.02m in an attempt to break the Asian record but he missed all of his three tries.

Completing the list of the podium finishers are Hussain Asim Alhizam of Saudi Arabia who won the silver medal and China’s Huang Bokai who managed to earn bronze.

With another championship campaign, Obiena just extended his streak of podium finishes and will seek to rack more once the second half of his competing calendar kicks off.

Two weeks ago, Obiena reset his previous Asian and national record during the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway while also taking home the gold medal.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympian finally overcame the challenge of cruising past the six-meter barrier and has been longing to surpass his 5.94-meter record for over a year now which he did in style after only needing one attempt to make history.