THREE-PEAT: EJ Obiena Captures Gold in Asian Athletics Championships

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

EJ Obiena added another gold medal to his collection after reigning supreme in the Asian Athletics Championships held at the Gumi Civic Stadium in South Korea, on May 31, 2025.

With the thrilling win, the Filipino pole vaulting superstar became a three-time gold medalist in the Asian Championships, a feat that he replicated during the 2019 and the 2023 editions of the tournament.

It wasn’t an easy route to gold as Obiena had to get past his training partner, China’s Huang Bokai, in a tense jump-off showdown at the 5.77-meter height.

After failing to clear the 5.82-m height, both Obiena and Huang had a jump-off at the 5.77-m, where the Filipino came out on top after capping off his golden leap in just his first try.

On the other hand, Huang wasn’t as crisp when he cleared the 5.72-m and exhausted his attempts at the 5.77-m, to settle for the silver medal.

Before the jump-off kicked off, both Obiena and Huang cleared all of their attempts in the 5.52-m and the 5.72-m heights.

Obiena decided to skip the 5.62-m, 5.67-m, and the 5.77-m to chase the 5.82-m height. That was also the path that Huang took, en route to a jump-off when they failed their mission in the latter.

Calm and composed, Obiena only needed a single attempt to nab the championship, a huge momentum booster for his upcoming international tournaments in the next months.

Placing third behind Obiena and Huang is Patsapong Amsamarng of Thailand, scoring 5.67-m which was enough to claim the bronze medal.

Aside from Obiena, another Filipino also joined in the Asian Athletics Championships, Hokett Delos Santos. The aspirant cleared the 4.97-m height putting him in 13^th place overall.