Filipino pole vault sensation EJ Obiena kicked off the year with a stellar performance on the global stage, clinching the gold at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze – Memorial Josip Gašparac held on Wednesday in Osijek, Croatia.
Shaking off the rust from an extended holiday break, Obiena still delivered a record-breaking performance with a remarkable leap of 5.83 meters, establishing a new meet standard in the elite category.
In his official Facebook page, Obiena expressed gratitude, saying, “Indoor season finally kicked off. Thank you for having us and putting on a great performance.”
Portugal’s Pedro Buaro took the silver medal with a jump of 5.73 meters, and the bronze went to Olan Tray Oates of the United States, who cleared 5.61 meters.
While celebrating the victory, Obiena also highlighted a humorous comment from his training partner and stablemate, Saudi Arabia’s Hussain Al-Hizam.
Quoting Al-Hizam, Obiena added, “Quote of the day from @hussain_pv: there were a lot of rust there.”
Hussain did 5.51 meters, securing a position between 4th to 6th places, alongside two other athletes. His score, however, was below his performance of 5.65 meters in the Asian Games last year when he took the bronze medal, the same output by China’s Huang Bokai and only losing the silver via countback.
Both Hussain and Obiena are under the guidance of Ukrainian pole vault coach Vitaly Petrov.
Obiena, who is bound for the Paris Olympics, is gearing up for the World Athletics Indoor Championships scheduled from March 1 to March 3 in Glasgow, Scotland.
The meet will bring together elite athletes from around the globe, including Obiena’s formidable rival and world champion, Mondo Duplantis of Sweden.
Before the World Championships, Obiena faces another challenging competition as he participates in the Istaf Indoor, an elite tournament within the World Athletics Indoor Tour, set in Berlin Germany on Feb. 23.