Filipino pole vault sensation Ernest John Obiena kicked off his indoor season with a bang as he grabbed a gold medal in the Memorial Josip Gašparac in Osijek, Croatia early Wednesday.
Obiena, the reigning Asian champion, cleared 5.83 meters in just one attempt to secure his first gold medal of the year on top of a cash prize worth 1,500 euros.
In the process, the 28-year-old vaulter set the new meet record as he surpassed the 5.72-meter mark set by Emmanouil Karalis of Greece last year.
It was an impressive win for Obiena as it boosted his morale heading into the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, where he will join hurdler John Cabang Tolentino in representing the country.
“Indoor season finally kicked off. 5.83 for the win gold here Osijek Meeting. Thank you for having us and putting on a great atmosphere,” Obiena posted on social media.
Pedro Buaro of Portugal came in second place after getting over 5.73m while Olen Tray Oates of the United States came in at third place after tallying 5.61m.
Obiena’s training partner Hussain Asim Al Hiam of Saudi Arabia took fourth place over Mexico’s Jorge Luna via countback after tallying an identical 5.51m.
Carson Waters finished at sixth place after going over 5.41m while Huang Bokai of China, also one of Obiena’s training partners, gets seventh place over Dan Barta of the Czech Republic via countback despite both pole vaulters tallying 5.31m.
Hometown bet Ivan Horvat came in at ninth place after getting over 5.11m while Slovenia’a Robert Renner retiring from the 10-man tournament.
World champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden did not participate in the tournament.
The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association congratulated Obiena for his feat.
“What a fantastic start! Congratulations to EJ Obiena for winning the gold at the Memorial Josip Gašparacand and setting a new meeting record in the elite category of 5.83m,” the federation said.
Obiena will be going to Germany for the ISTAF Berlin that starts on 23 February.
