FILIPINO POLE vaulter and Thomasian athlete EJ Obiena struck gold at the inaugural International Pole Vault Meeting held at Cathedral Square in Halberstadt, Germany on Saturday, Aug. 1.
Fresh off a silver-medal finish at the Meeting Madrid in Spain, the two-time Olympian sealed his victory by clearing 5.76 meters.
Qatari vaulter Seifeldin Abdelsalam claimed silver with 5.66 meters while United States’ Cole Walsh rounded out the podium by taking bronze with 5.56 meters.
Obiena opened with a clean clearance of 5.56 meters on his first attempt.
After opting to pass at 5.66 meters, he found himself in a head-to-head battle with Abdelsalam, who needed all three attempts to clear the height.
The 30-year-old responded with a first-attempt clearance at 5.76 meters to clinch the title while Abdelsalam failed to clear the height.
The Tondo native ranked 14th in the world bagged his sixth gold medal of the year and his second consecutive podium finish. F
