THOMASIAN POLE vault star EJ Obiena broke the 5.90-meter barrier for the first time in two years after clearing a meet record 5.91 meters to capture gold at the Golden Sand 2026 in Międzyzdroje, Poland, on Monday, August 17.
The two-time Olympian comfortably topped the field at the Promenada Gwiazd, with Qatar’s Seifeldin Abdelsalam finishing second at 5.75 meters and American Cole Walsh claiming bronze with 5.70 meters via countback over Saudi Arabia’s Hussain Al-Hizam.
Obiena’s 5.91-meter clearance marked his best performance of the season, surpassing the 5.85-meter mark he cleared at the Meeting Madrid in Spain, where he finished with silver.
The Filipino vaulter also breached the 5.90-meter mark for the first time since matching the height at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he narrowly missed the podium.
“I haven’t been up here for some time. 5.91m here in Międzyzdroje for the [gold] and a new meeting record. Happy to finally be back over a 90 bar,” Obiena wrote in a recent social media post.
The Międzyzdroje meet marked Obiena’s third consecutive gold medal after winning the International Pole Vault Meeting in Halberstadt and the 30th International Pole Vault Meeting in Jockgrim, both in Germany.
The victory also brought Obiena’s gold medal haul to eight this season as he continues to climb the world rankings and break back into the world’s top 10 to secure a spot in the inaugural World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
