EJ Obiena picked up where he left to win his first gold this 2024.
EJ Obiena picked up where he left to win his first gold this 2024.
World no. 2 pole vaulter EJ Obiena continues to ramp up his Paris Olympics preparations with a gold-medal finish in the Memorial Josip Gasparac indoor event in Croatia.
Not only did the 2023 Asian Games gold medalist took the top honors, but Obiena also set a new event record after clearing 5.83 meters.
Pedro Buaro of Portugal and Olen Tray Oates of USA took home the silver and bronze medals respectively, clocking in at 5.73 and 5.61 meters to complete the podium finishers.
Obiena, last year’s World Athletics Championships silver medalist, competed against the likes of China's Huang Bokai and Hussain Al-Hizam of Saudi Arabia as all of them are trained under one coach, Vitaly Petrov.
ALSO READ: Coach Vitaly Petrov's resume shows why EJ Obiena is poised to do greater things
The trio even finished 1-2-3 in last year’s Guangzhou Asian Games with Bokai claiming silver and Al-Hizam nabbing bronze.
Next up for EJ is the ISTAF Indoor in Berlin, Germany tomorrow and the 28-year-old pole vaulter will also see in action in the World Indoor Championship in Glasgow, Scotland.
ALSO READ: EJ Obiena shines brightest in star-studded PSA Awards Night