There’s no stopping this athletic superstar from soaring to newer and greater heights! Once again, EJ Obiena cements his status as one of the best pole vaulters in the world after manifesting a consistent string of gold and silver medals fresh after his historic World Championship bronze.
In recent events, Obiena’s latest competition saw him standing atop the podium at the 2022 Golden Fly Series in Liechtenstein last September 11, Sunday. Obiena dominated the event by clearing a height of 5.71 meters, adding yet another title to his name. In addition to his silver medal at the ISTAF Berlin meet last September 14, Obiena had also previously accumulated a four-medal golden streak in just two weeks, leaving no doubts about his current upwards momentum towards the peak of the sport.
In fact, Obiena’s performance at the Brussels Diamond League held in Belgium last September 2 (Friday) resulted in a rare upset victory over the Tokyo Olympic champion Armand Duplantis. The Swedish American had previously gone undefeated in 20 consecutive competitions over the past year, including a record-breaking win of 6.21 meters at the World Athletics Championships conducted last July.
“Made a core memory today. First [Diamond League Athletics] win here in [Allianz Memorial Van Damme] with 5.91m,” wrote Obiena on Facebook after the momentous achievement.
Source: EJ Obiena, Facebook
Obiena’s hard-won victory was decided when he was able to clear 5.91 meters at his third and final attempt. Duplantis, who had knocked the bar off during his last turn of trying to clear the same height, ultimately settled for silver as his first loss of the year. Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympic runner-up Chris Nilsen (USA) snagged bronze after leaping a hurdle of 5.71 meters.
Obiena, greatly determined to improve his current form, now has his eyes set on resetting his Asian record and personal best of 5.94 meters.
Looking forward to his next challenge, Obiena posted: “A few more competition[s] before we call it a season. Let’s keep pushing and fighting.”
