Obiena snags gold in Taiwan fog
EJ Obiena’s preparations for bigger outdoor events later in the year got off on the right foot despite uncooperative weather conditions that made the Taiwan International Pole Vault Championship field struggle last Sunday at Sun Moon Lake in Nantou.
The Filipino bagged the gold medal with a vault of 5.50 meters in foggy conditions that punished the 25-strong field that included another Filipino, Hokkett delos Santos, with the United States’ Matt Ludwig finishing second with an effort of 5.30m.
Obiena is the reigning Asian and Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, and he will get a chance to defend the latter later this year.
“We can’t always have sunny skies and perfect weather conditions. We have to persevere through all kinds of adversity,” wrote Obiena on Instagram.
“This was a new kind of adversity and I definitely learned from it!”
Obiena won for the third time this season after his victories in the ORLEN Copernicus Cup in Poland and the Metz Moselle Athelor in France.
Delos Santos, seen as the heir to Obiena as the Philippines’ finest, jumped 5.15 meters, a personal best.
The victory was somewhat similar to the way Obiena snatched gold in the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, when the skies became foggy later in the competition that started under clear skies.
