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By Niel Victor C. Masoy
FILIPINO Olympian Ernest John "EJ" Obiena cleared 5.81 meters to win the men's pole vault gold medal at the Internationales Stabhochsprung-Meeting in Germany on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).
Obiena outperformed 10 other competitors, including Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Chris Nilsen of the United States, to jumpstart a seven-event stretch on a winning note.
Nilsen bagged the silver after clearing the 5.71-meter bar. Kurtis Marschall of Australia also jumped 5.71 meters but settled for the bronze after the count back.
With his golden performance, Obiena also reached the qualifying standard for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Obiena resets PH record, wins bronze at World Athletics
"Great start for the second part of the season," the 26-year-old Obiena wrote on his Facebook page.
"We got the standard for next year's World Champs in Hungary."
Other pole vaulters who participated in the tournament included Germany's Bo Kanda, Lita Baehre and Oleg Zernikel, Norway's Sondre Guttormsen, and USA's Tray Oates.
Obiena has two more events scheduled for the week as he competes in the Lausanne Diamond League in Switzerland on August 25 and the True Athletics Classics in Germany on August 28.
He made history last month by capturing the bronze medal at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.
Obiena, the world's number three pole vaulter, was recently reinstated to the Philippine team after a run-in with the previous leadership of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association.
