MANILA, Philippines — Filipino pole vault ace Ernest John "EJ" Obiena soared to his first outdoor season gold medal as he ruled the Czeslaw Cybulski Memorial in Poznan, Poland on Monday.
Obiena cleared 5.72 meters for the gold medal, defeating British Owen Heard and Italian Matteo Oliveri who claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Heard aced 5.60m and topped Oliveri via countback (fewer attempts) as the Italian cleared the same height.
Heard cleared the starting height of 5.25m in just one attempt while Oliveri needed two.
Obiena's gold served as a solid rebound after he placed last in the 8-man Diamond League Doha leg on June 19 in Qatar, where he cleared only one height (5.42m).
"Happy with the progress," wrote Obiena in an Instagram post, captioning a photo of him with his legs stretched sideways while holding a pole midair.
"The height and numbers are yet to come but happy to come away with the gold here at Czeslaw Cybulski Memorial and thank you for having me. Onto the next."
Obiena skipped 5.25m and soared past 5.40m in just one try before needing two attempts to clear 5.60m.
The 6-foot-2 pole vaulter skipped 5.67m before clearing 5.72m on his second try.
Obiena tried to soar above 5.77m but failed, deciding to skip to 5.82m, which he likewise could not clear in three attempts.
Polish Piotr Lisek and Norwegian Simen Guttormsen both cleared 5.60m to complete the top five.
Lisek ranked fourth via countback.
