DEFYING difficult wind conditions, Thomasian athletics icon EJ Obiena set a new stadium record with a season-best clearance of 5.75 meters to win the gold medal at the Raiffeisen Austrian Open in Eisenstadt, Austria on Wednesday, July 1.
The winning clearance also marked Obiena’s outdoor season best, eclipsing the 5.72 meters he posted en route to winning the Czesław Cybulski Memorial in Poznań, Poland, just two days earlier.
The Filipino pole vaulter cleared the winning height on his third and final attempt to finish ahead of Great Britain’s Owen Heard and Czechia’s Dan Barta, who both cleared 5.55 meters. Heard, once again, secured the silver medal via countback, while Barta settled for bronze.
“After many, many runs and 3rd attempt makes, we needed to call it a night after 11PM. Thank you very much for having,” Obiena said in his social media accounts.
Obiena opened his campaign with a clean first-attempt clearance of 5.45 meters before electing to pass 5.55 meters and move directly to 5.65 meters. Battling strong winds, he needed all three attempts to clear the bar and keep his title bid alive.
Carrying that momentum, Obiena raised the bar to the meeting record height of 5.75 meters and once again succeeded in his third and final attempt to clinch the gold medal while establishing a new stadium record.
With the victory already secured after a grueling contest in difficult wind conditions, Obiena opted not to attempt a higher height and concluded his campaign at 5.75 meters.
His overall season best remains the 5.78 meters he cleared during the indoor season at the ISTAF Indoor meet in Berlin.
Obiena will aim to extend his winning streak on Saturday, July 4, when he competes in the Fly Athens Street Pole Vault Championships in Greece. F
