EJ Obiena still Asian Games pole vault king after defending gold medal.
EJ Obiena needed only one final leap to turn a rainy night into another piece of Philippine sports history.
With the Asian Games men’s pole vault gold already secured, Obiena raised the bar to 5.91 meters and cleared it on his final attempt Tuesday night at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, breaking his own Games record and giving the Philippines its third gold medal in the 2026 Asian Games.
The 30-year-old two-time Olympian eclipsed the 5.90-meter mark he set in Hangzhou, China, three years ago, when he won his first Asian Games title. The victory made Obiena a back-to-back Asian Games champion in the event.
“I revel in this moment, I really enjoy it, I love the pressure. I know I’m doing something significant,” Obiena told the Olympic Council of Asia after his record-breaking clearance.
Rain made conditions difficult throughout the competition, but Obiena steadily worked his way through the heights.
He skipped the opening three heights before entering at 5.50 meters. He cleared 5.50, 5.70, and 5.75 on his first attempts, becoming the only vaulter in the 12-man field to clear 5.75 and effectively securing the gold.
China’s Yao Jie and Li Chenyang both cleared 5.70. Yao took the silver on countback, while Li settled for bronze.
Thailand’s Patsapong Amsamarng also challenged for the podium but failed twice at 5.75. Yao missed all three attempts at 5.75, while Li, after missing his first attempt at the height, moved on to 5.80 and failed twice.
Obiena then tried 5.80 but missed his first two attempts.
With the gold already his, he could have stopped there.
Instead, he asked for the bar to be raised to 5.91.
“I think I have one good jump left in my body,” Obiena said of his decision, according to the OCA. “So I said I think I could jump .91. We went for it and I’m just happy to clear it.”
He delivered.
Obiena sailed over the bar on his final attempt, setting the new Asian Games record and matching his season-best 5.91-meter clearance.
The conditions had taken their toll. Obiena said he was cramping and acknowledged that the weather was far from ideal. He had fallen on the rain-soaked runway during practice before the competition but recovered to produce the winning performance.
“I could have gone 5.80, but I said to my coach, ‘I think I have one good jump left in my body,’” he said.
He decided against attempting 6.00 meters, the Asian record he set in Budapest in 2023.
The Nagoya victory adds another major achievement to Obiena’s growing record. He is a four-time Asian champion and also owns four consecutive Southeast Asian Games gold medals. His latest Asiad title also came in a sport in which the Philippines has not traditionally been a powerhouse.
His gold was the Philippines’ third in Nagoya, following Carlos Yulo’s victories in the men’s floor exercise and vault in gymnastics. The country had also collected silver and bronze medals across other events as of Tuesday night.
Obiena’s golden performance will also carry a statutory financial reward.
Under Republic Act 10699, or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, an individual gold medalist at the Asian Games is entitled to a P2 million cash incentive. Silver medalists receive P1 million and bronze medalists receive P400,000.
The law covers national athletes and other Filipino athletes who represent the country in international competitions, with the cash incentives administered under the government’s sports benefits program.
For Obiena, however, the biggest prize in Nagoya was already waiting at the top of the bar.
He had the gold.
Then he went one centimeter higher. MLSA WITH POC MEDIA POOL/FROM THE WIRES