EJ Obiena vaults to back-to-back golds after long layoff

MANILA, Philippines – Away from competitive action for months, EJ Obiena is slowly getting his groove back with consecutive gold medals in Europe.

The Filipino pole vault star ruled the Austrian Open by setting a new stadium record of 5.75 meters at the Leichtathletikarena in Eisenstadt on Wednesday, July 1 (Thursday, July 2, Manila time).

Obiena eclipsed the previous mark of 5.74m established by Austin Miller of the United States in 2024 as he picked up a second straight first-place finish following his victory in the Czeslaw Cybulski Memorial in Poland three days prior.

With victory in the bag as the only one to clear 5.65m, Obiena gave 5.75m — his highest of the current outdoor season — a shot and got the job done on his third and final attempt.

Great Britain’s Owen Heard and Czech Republic’s Dan Barta bagged silver and bronze, respectively, with 5.55m clearances.

The triumph marked the first time Obiena won back-to-back golds since he defended home turf in the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge in September and captured a fourth straight title in the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December.

After a ninth-place finish in the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland in March, Obiena did not compete for nearly three months.

Obiena returned to action last June 14 in the Flight Circus Dusseldorf in Germany, where he placed second with 5.74m, before he missed the podium in the Doha Meeting in Qatar and FBK Games in the Netherlands, where he landed at eighth and fourth, respectively. 

He then earned his first gold of the outdoor season by replicating his 2024 triumph in the Czeslaw Cybulski Memorial. 

Obiena, the only Asian member of the exclusive six-meter club, travels to Greece to take part in the Fly Athens on July 5. – Rappler.com