Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 30) — Filipino pole vault sensation EJ Obiena on Saturday bagged the country’s first gold medal in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Obiena cleared 5.90 meters in the men’s pole vault finals, breaking the record of Japan’s Seito Yamamoto who leaped 5.70 m during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
China’s Huang Bokai and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Hussain Asim Al Hizam bagged the silver and bronze medals, respectively, both clearing 5.65 m.
Obiena, who is currently World No. 2 in men’s pole vault, quickly gained momentum in the tournament as he cleared 5.55 m in his first attempt. He later skipped to 5.75 m where he made two attempts leaping over it.
Both Huang and Al Hizam failed to clear 5.75 m, which helped Obiena secure the gold.
But the Filipino pole vaulter tried to further surpass his Asian Games record and cleared 5.90 m with a breeze.
He then attempted to break his personal best of 6.0 m by trying to clear 6.02 m. However, he was unsuccessful in his three tries.
The 27-year-old Obiena only placed 7th in the Jakarta tournament five years ago, where he only cleared 5.45 m.
Prior to his Asian Games stint, Obiena won silver in the Wanda Diamond League in Oregon, United States after clearing 5.82 m.
