EJ Obiena boosts world top 10 bid with back-to-back golds in Germany

MOMENTUM. Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena in action in the 2026 Fly Athens in Greece. Fly Athens EJ Obiena claims his seventh first-place finish of the year and second straight in Germany as he rules 30th International Pole Vault Meeting in Jockgrim MANILA, Philippines – EJ Obiena’s bid to return to world top 10 continues to gain ground. Obiena captured back-to-back gold medals after ruling the 30th International Pole Vault Meeting in Jockgrim, Germany, on Wednesday, August 5 (Thursday, August 6, Manila time). The Filipino cleared 5.83 meters and beat Qatar’s Seifeldin Abdelsalam via countback to claim his seventh first-place finish of the year. It marked Obiena’s second consecutive gold medal in Germany following his victory in the 1st International Pole Vault Meeting in Halberstad, where he tallied 5.76m. The former world No. 2, Obiena previously said that a “realistic goal” for him is to once again crack the top 10, and he is slowly working towards that target as he climbed to No. 13 from No. 14 last week in the world rankings. Obiena has shown consistency, clearing the 5.80m bar for the fourth time in his last five meets. “Was far from smooth competition and some struggles during warmup and earlier bars but happy to scrape an 80 bar. We continue to work and now a few trainings in before we go again,” Obiena wrote on his social media accounts. Obiena took two tries to hurdle 5.45m but needed just a single attempt in each of the next three heights as he vaulted past 5.60m, 6.70m, and 5.83m. Eyeing his first 5.90m-clearance since his fourth-place outing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 30-year-old Filipino star gave 5.93m a go but to no avail. Abdelsalam settled for silver after three ties at 5.83m, while Turkey’s Ersu Sasma bagged bronze with 5.77m. Now based in Athens, Greece, Obiena goes back to work with the team of current world No. 2 Emmanouil Karalis. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading