EJ Obiena has done it again. The Filipino pole vault star vaulted to another golden finish on Tuesday morning, clearing 5.91 meters to bag the gold medal at the Golden Sand 2026 in Międzyzdroje, Poland.
This gold is Obiena’s third straight in what is shaping up to be a sensational European swing. So far, the two-time Olympian has won six gold medals in his busy campaign in Europe while also copping a silver and a bronze.
The 30-year-old pole vaulter proved too much for a highly competitive field that included Cole Walsh and Hunter Garretson of the US, Robin Emig of France, and Seifeldin Abdelsalam and Hussain Al-Hizam of Asia. Abdelsalam and Al-Hizam are expected to be among Obiena’s biggest rivals in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya.
Joining the UST alum on the podium in Międzyzdroje were Abdelsalam, who cleared 5.75 meters, and Walsh, who bagged bronze via countback at 5.70 meters.
Obiena Is Soaring
Crucially, Obiena’s height of 5.91 meters is the highest he has cleared in two years and the first time this season he has breached the 90 bar. It surpassed by a few centimeters his previous high clearance of 5.85 meters, which he set in early August at the Stabhochsprung Meeting in Jockgrim, Germany. He just missed out on another gold in that competition, as Germany’s Bo Kanda Baehre set his personal best, 5.90 meters.
Now, in Poland, it was Obiena’s turn to submit a personal best—albeit for this season—to bag his eighth gold medal of the season, following golden finishes in Jockgrim, Halberstadt, Berlin, and Cottbus in Germany; Poznań in Poland; Eisenstadt in Austria; and Tianjin in China.
Ranked No. 13 in the world, the Tondo native is gunning for a spot in the upcoming World Athletics Ultimate Championships, where the best and brightest stars of athletics will be competing. He is also looking to barge back into the top 10, where he once was a fixture, even reaching as high as No. 2. Incidentally, Obiena is currently training with current world No. 2 Emmanouil Karalis after moving his training from Italy to Greece this past June.
With his current form, the 30-year-old veteran could be up for bigger things ahead.
