MANILA, Philippines — Two-time Olympian Ernest John “EJ” Obiena bagged the gold medal in the men’s pole vault event at the 12th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tianjin, China on Saturday.
Obiena cleared the 5.70m to claim the top honors in the Asian meet.
He defeated Chinese jumpers Li Chenyang (5.60m) and Chen Yang (5.40m), while Thailand’s Patsapong Amsam-ang, who was his rival in the most recent Southeast Asian Games, could only settle for fourth place.
Obiena’s Asian indoor record remains at 5.93m, which was set two years ago.