Ernest John “EJ” Obiena has just added a silver medal to his credit while breaking the Philippines’ indoor pole vault record and his own personal best at the 2021 Orlen Cup in Łódź, Poland.
The Filipino pole vault champion cleared 5.86 meters on February 12, 2021 (February 13 Philippine Time), to again break the Philippines’ indoor pole vault record which he himself established with a gold-winning 5.80 meters, his first for the season, on February 5 at the ISTAF (Internationales Stadionfest) Indoor athletics meet in Berlin. Obiena afterward went on to claim another gold finish in the PSD Bank Indoor Meeting in Dortmund, Germany on February 7.
The Philippines’ first Tokyo Olympics qualifier easily cleared 5.40 meters and 5.60 meters in single attempts. Obiena then successfully jumped 5.72 meters and 5.80 meters in two attempts.
EJ Obiena and Sam Kendricks of the United States both cleared 5.86 meters. The Filipino champion went for the 5.91 meters but failed to clear the height while the American opted to skip the same. The final result gave the gold to the American and the silver to the Filipino athlete.
EJ Obiena is preparing for the Tokyo Olympics as part of the Philippine delegation along with three other Filipino qualifiers, gymnast Carlos Yulo, male boxer Eumir Marcial, and female boxer Irish Magno.
WATCH EJ Obiena’s silver-winning jump that broke the Philippines’ and his personal pole vault records in Poland and SEND CONGRATULATIONS in the comments below!
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