EJ Obiena won another gold in Germany. But his win in Jockgrim didn’t come easy; at this point in his season, though, it barely needs to.
The two-time Olympian claimed gold at the Stabhochsprung Meeting on Wednesday night, clearing 5.83 meters to take his seventh title of the 2026 season. Obiena’s 5.83 meters ties Paul Burgess, Shawn Barber, and Raphael Holzdeppe as the second highest mark in the tournament.
Joining the Filipino at the podium is fellow Asian Selfeldin Abdelsalam of Qatar, who lost out on the gold via countback. The rising Qatari, incidentally, is shaping up to be Obiena’s most formidable foe in the upcoming Asian Games in Japan. Turkey’s Ersu Sasma copped bronze with a height of 5.77 meters.
Obiena Overcomes Challenges
It wasn’t a clean night by his Obiena’s standards as he struggled through warm-ups and the opening heights before finally settling in, working his way to a result that mattered far more than how smoothly it came together.
He said as much himself in a social media post afterward, describing the competition as far from smooth given his early struggles, but expressing happiness at scraping over an “80 bar” in front of a packed crowd in J-Town. He then added that a few more training sessions lie ahead before his next event.
The win comes just days after another strong showing in Germany, where he won gold at the inaugural International Pole Vault Meeting to extend what’s become a genuinely productive stretch for the 30-year-old on the European circuit this year.
Seven titles into the season, the pattern is becoming familiar: whether the night goes smoothly or not, Obiena keeps finding a way to end up on top of the podium.
With another gold now added to his collection, Obiena moves on to the next stops of his international campaign still very much on track.
