EJ Obiena climbed to the podium and won a bronze medal at the World Athletics Continental Tour in Beijing, China this past weekend. Obiena flew 5.65 meters for third place, behind champion Tao Zhong of China and Cole Walsh of the US, both clearing 5.75 meters.
Zhong won the gold via countback. Obiena, who finished fourth at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is set to make another appearance at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan from September 13–21.
In 2023, Obiena won a historic silver medal in Hungary after setting a Philippine and Asian record of 6.00 meters, barely beating Paris gold medalist Armand Duplantis of Sweden who climbed 6.10 meters.
This year, Obiena has climbed to the podium of nine international tournaments, including a silver medal at the Meeting Madrid in Spain in July with a height of 5.80 meters. Currently, Obiena is No. 7 in the world men’s pole vault rankings, ready to take on strong competition alongside Duplantis.
