Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena snags first win since battling a back injury in 2024, taking first place in France.
World no. 4 pole vaulter EJ Obiena claimed his first win since battling a back injury last year as he took first place in the Meeting Metz Moselle Athlelor in France, ahead of back-to-back meets this weekend for the two-time Olympian.
Obiena, whose season last year was cut short due to the injury, led the eight-man field which also included Chris Nilsen, who won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Obiena cleared a season best 5.70m in one attempt to lead the pack ahead of the Netherlands’ Menno Vloon due to count back.
Nilsen, meanwhile, struggled to get anything going, settling for third as he finished with a best clearance of 5.60m.
Nilsen failed thrice at clearing 5.70m.
For Obiena, it was a breeze to get past 5.70m as he also needed just one attempt in his previous clearance of 5.50m. Vloon needed all three tries to get past 5.60m which gave Obiena the advantage in the count back.
The Filipino tried his hand at clearing 5.85m but failed thrice to settle for the 5.70m result.
However, the win comes at an opportune time for Obiena who is set to defend his Istaf crown in Germany on Sunday night (Manila time).
Buoyed by the breakthrough victory, the 29-year-old hopes to make it twin wins for the weekend in the meet that will be led by Paris 2024 silver medalist Sam Kendricks.
Reigning Olympic champion and world record holder Mondo Duplantis won’t be around.
Still, there will be a lot of competition for Obiena with the likes of home bet Oleg Zernikel also looking to nab the crown from Obiena.