EJ Obiena is starting to really soar.
Fresh from just missing out on a podium in Hungary, the Filipino Olympian next took his talents to Spain, where he competed at the 2026 Meeting Madrid, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver competition. There, Obiena added to his growing haul to start the second half of the year, bagging silver and narrowly missing out on gold.
A Personal Best for Obiena
Obiena secured second place after clearing 5.85 meters—the same height as bronze medalist Pedro Buaro of Portugal. The Filipino, however, won silver via countback. Bo Kanda Baehre of Germany claimed gold with a personal‑best 5.90 meters.
More than just the additional hardware, Obiena’s stint in Spain is noteworthy because he cleared a season‑best 5.85 meters. His previous high for the season was 5.81 at the Fly Athens Street Pole Vault competition in Greece.
This is the third time this July that the Filipino pole vaulter has cleared at least 5.80 meters, as he also did at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Budapest, Hungary just last Wednesday.
Soaring Higher and Higher
In June, 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.
Not even two 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.
It appears he’s inching closer to that goal.
