Ernest John “EJ” Obiena showed that he is still the king during a rainy Tuesday night at the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games men’s pole vault competition at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Japan.
He not only kept his gold medal but also set a new Asian Games record.
Obiena, the three-time Asian Athletics Championship leader, decided to raise his old Asian Games record from the 2023 Hangzhou Games in China by one centimeter—and he did it by clearing 5.91 meters almost without breaking a sweat.
He rose, shouted and raised both hands in celebration before thanking and shaking hands with those around him.
China’s Yao Jie missed all three attempts at 5.75 meters after clearing 5.70m. He won the bronze medal, while fellow Chinese vaulter Li Chenyang also cleared 5.70m but needed only two attempts, earning the silver medal on countback.
The four-time Southeast Asian Games champion and the first Asian to clear 6.00 meters did not miss at 5.50m, skipped 5.60m and moved to 5.70m before clearing 5.75m.
By then, his Chinese rivals had already failed to clear 5.75m, assuring him of the gold medal and allowing him to retain his title. Despite the favorable situation, Obiena did not simply walk away after securing the gold.
Instead, he raised the bar to 5.91m and cleared it, erasing his previous Asian Games record of 5.90m, which he set when he won the gold at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
His 5.91m Asian Games record, however, remains below his Asian record of 6.00m, which he set at the Sparebanken Vest Bergen Jump Challenge in Bergen, Norway, on June 10, 2023, and equaled at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on August 26.
Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) president Agapito “Terry” Capistrano expressed satisfaction with Obiena’s achievement. The Philippines now has one gold and two bronze medals in athletics at the 2026 Asian Games, courtesy of Obiena, Victoria Bossong in the women’s 800 meters, and John Cabang Tolentino in the men’s 110-meter hurdles.
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