Filipino pole vault star Ernest John “EJ” Obiena has broken the Philippine national record anew with his silver medal finish at the 2022 Perche Elite Tour in France.
The World No. 5 in men’s pole vaulting cleared 5.91 meters for a second-place finish on March 6, 2022 (March 5 in France) in Rouen.
The height betters the country’s national indoor record which Obiena himself set at 5.86m in last year’s Orlen Cup in Lodz, the same event where the Filipino athlete won his first gold of the current 2022 season.
The record is just two centimeters short of matching his historic leap of 5.93 meters made last year in Austria which broke the 23-year-old Asian record held by Kazakhstan’s Igor Potapovich.
The record-breaking 5.91 meters vault also bettered Obiena’s season-best of 5.81m set in this championship wins at the Orlen Cup and Orlen Copernicus Cup in Poland in February which earned the Filipino his slots in two upcoming World Athletics meets.
On his way to clearing 5.91m, the 26-year-old champion cleared 5.86m with only one attempt.
Obiena’s new record earned him a silver, ahead of Olympic champion Thiago Braz who also cleared 5.91m for bronze, while Christopher Nilsen set a new world mark at 6.05m to get the Perche Elite Tour title.
EJ Obiena continues to train to compete while awaiting the national federation endorsements for the following international sports events:
- March 18 to 20, 18th World Indoor Championships – Belgrade, Serbia
- May 12 to 23, 31st Southeast Asian Games – Hanoi, Vietnam
- July 15 to 24, 18th World Athletics Championships – Oregon, USA
- September 12 to 25, 19th Asian Games – Hangzhou, China
TELL US your good news story tips by messaging GoodNewsPilipinas.com on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or e-mail editor@goodnewspilipinas.com and WATCH Good News Pilipinas TV YouTube & Good News Pilipinas TikTok for more Filipino Pride stories!
