EJ Obiena needed all of one attempt to settle matters in Halberstadt.
The Filipino Olympian topped the 10-man field at the inaugural International Pole Vault Meeting at Cathedral Square in Germany on Friday, clearing 5.76 meters on his very first try to take the win. He pushed for more afterward, attempting 5.90 meters three times, but couldn’t get over the bar on any of them. Clearing 5.90 meters would have been a season best for Obiena, whose high this year is 5.85 meters.
It didn’t matter. Nobody else in the field got close enough to make it a contest. Qatar’s Abdelsalam Seifeldin settled for second after clearing 5.66 meters, while American Walsh Cole rounded out the podium at 5.56 meters.
The win comes just two weeks after Obiena finished runner-up at the Meeting Madrid, where he cleared 5.85 meters—a higher bar than the one that won him Halberstadt, ironically enough, but not enough that day to finish on top. Germany, evidently, was where he settled the score.
Obiena Is Still Soaring
At the halfway mark of 2026, Obiena announced arguably the biggest move of his career as he left his long‑time training ground in Italy in favor of Greece, where he says high‑level training with elite athletes will be a day‑to‑day experience.
“Talk to any top Kenyan distance runner, and they will tell you Olympic medals are won in training,” he said. “Specifically, in training with other top Kenyan runners daily and pushing each other to greater heights. This is true for every sport and event, including pole vault,” Obiena explained back then.
Now, three months later, Obiena has gone on a streak of strong performances that includes several podium finishes and clearing at least 5.80 meters three times. These are all positive signs for a 30‑year‑old looking to regain his once lofty status in the sport.
With this gold in Germany, Obiena just took another step towards achieving that goal.
