Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena surpassed his personal best, thus setting a new Philippine record on Friday, February 12 (Saturday, February 13, Manila time) in the Orlen Indoor Cup 2021 at the Atlas Arena in Poland.
Obiena leaped to 5.86 meters, eclipsing the 5.80-m mark, which he set less than two weeks ago in the ISTAF Indoor Athletics Meet in Berlin, Germany.
The 25-year-old pole vaulter, though, settled for silver as American Sam Kendricks cleared 5.86m in one attempt, while the Filipino athletics star did it in 3.
Reigning Olympic gold medalist Thiago Braz came in at 3rd place, recording a 5.80m mark.
In the outdoor setting, Obiena’s personal best of 5.81m was set back in 2019 in a meet in Chiara, Italy, which made him the first Filipino to earn a ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
After resetting the Philippine record thrice and copping the elusive Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold, Obiena won the country’s first medal in the 2020 Monaco Diamond League with a bronze finish last August.
He continues to train with Olympic champion coach Vitaly Petrov in Formia, Italy as he ramps up his bid for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. – Rappler.com
via PK
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