‘GOLDEN LEAP’: EJ Obiena bags fourth consecutive SEA Games gold

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

EJ Obiena has already made it a habit.

When some athletes lose their hunger after sitting at the top for so long, Obiena showed a different vision as he remained the king of the Southeast Asian Games’ men’s pole vault, claiming the gold medal for the fourth straight time on Dec. 16, 2025, at Supachalasai Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

What made the victory sweeter was the more challenging task of this 33rd edition of the SEA Games, where Obiena was drawn into a mano-a-mano duel with hometown bet Amsamarng Patsapong.

However, the more experienced Obiena finally got a sigh of relief when the Thai needed three attempts to leap over the Filipino’s winning clearance.

After both competitors completed the 5.65 meters with ease, the showdown was locked in to 5.70 meters, a height that Obiena had already surpassed several times in past years.

The decorated athlete put the pressure back on Patsapong when he stunned the venue with just a single attempt to put the 5.70 meters in the bag.

Exhausted after being placed in an unfamiliar situation, Patsapong fumbled his first two attempts, but made it up after completing on the third and final chance.

Obiena and Patsapong were set for another jump-off when the height was increased to 5.75 meters, but both of them failed to clear the set limit, rewarding the Filipino with the win via the countback rule due to his one-take completion at the 5.70-meter mark.

The 30-year-old star was already behind Patsapong when he committed an uncharacteristic error at 5.45 meters, but Obiena pulled off an impressive late push, only needing a single try at 5.55 meters, 5.65 meters, and 5.70 meters to cap off his campaign with another gold.

Patsapong looked invincible after perfecting his jump in the first four height limits, but a costly round derailed by back-to-back errors at 5.70 meters prevented his mission of dethroning Obiena.

And still the king of Southeast Asia’s pole vault! EJ Obiena! Mabuhay ka!