Olympic-bound EJ Obiena gets twin wins in Germany

Pinoy pole vault sensation Ernest John Obiena saw his stock rise further, as he continues his build-up to the Tokyo Olympics with a pair of wins in Germany over home bets in the weekend.

Both of those wins happened on indoor tournaments, with the 25-year old took the gold at the Internationales Stadionfest at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin last February 5.

By setting a new national record and personal best of 5.8 meters that was cleared in just his first try, Obiena defeated home favourite Torben Blech by a hair, with the German cleared the height on his second attempt.

Fellow German Oleg Zernikel took the bronze with his personal-best of 5.72m

Proving that his triumph in Berlin was no fluke, Obiena went east to Dortmund and won the PSD Bank Indoor Meeting last Sunday night.

This time, Zernikel forced him into a jump-off after both men had cleared 5.65m.

But this time, the reigning Asian champion took the top plum with a 5.68m mark that is officially certified by the World Athletics, with Blech settling for the bronze.

Following the twin wins in the space of three weeks, Obiena will continue his indoor campaign tomorrow (February 9) in Lievin, France near Lens for the Meeting Hauts de France Pas de Calais.

There, he will have a star studded opposition, in which he had to face Swedish world record holder Armand Duplantis and the two most recent Olympic champions in Brazil’s Thiago Braz Da Silvaand home favourite Renaud Lavillanie.
PHOTO: ISTAF Berlin