By el Amigo
EJ Obiena arrived at the Asian Games with a target on his back. He left with another gold medal—and a record that now bears his name once again.
Still nursing a scraped left arm after a nasty fall on the rain-soaked runway during practice, Obiena rose above the conditions and the challenge Tuesday night, clearing 5.91 meters to successfully defend his men’s pole vault title at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
The 30-year-old Filipino barely broke a sweat before securing the gold.
After skipping the first three heights, Obiena sailed over 5.50m, 5.70m and 5.75m on his first attempts. When the rest of the 12-man field failed to clear 5.75m, the championship was his.
China’s Yao Jie and Li Chenyang both finished at 5.70m, with Yao claiming silver on countback and Li taking bronze.
Obiena, however, had unfinished business.
He went after 5.80m but failed twice. Rather than call it a night, he raised the bar to 5.91m, chasing the Asian Games record he had established at 5.90m in Hangzhou three years ago.
On his final attempt, Obiena cleared it.
The 5.91m leap not only sealed another Asiad title but also erased his own Games record and capped a remarkable 2026 campaign with his 10th gold medal of the season.
The victory was also the Philippines’ third gold in Aichi-Nagoya, following Carlos Yulo’s triumphs in the men’s floor exercise and vault.
Obiena came into the Games as the defending champion.
He leaves as champion, record-holder—and once again, king of Asian pole vault.
