By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Impressive.
That’s how to describe the performance of world No. 2 EJ Obiena as he launched his buildup for his ambitious gold medal bid in the Paris Olympics this July.
In his first event since the indoor season began last month, Obiena showed he remained fully focused and inspired after a string of sterling performances last season by topping the the Memorial Josip Gasparac in Osijek, Croatia on Tuesday, Feb. 20 (Wednesday in Manila).
The 2020 Tokyo Olympian soared like an eagle to clear the 5.83-meter barrier and rule the 10-player field.
His performance also eclipsed the old meet record of 5.72m posted by Greek Olympian Emmanouil Karalis last year.
Cool and confident, Obiena skipped the first four heights and started at 5.51m which he hurdled with ease before skipping the 5.61m and 5.68m.
At first, Obiena encountered difficulty clearing the 5.73m barrier but he finally made it after his second try.
Obiena virtually clinched the gold by clearing the 5.83m barrier on his first attempt that all but disarmed his rivals.
The PSA Athlete of the Year for 2023 attempted to hurdle the 5.93m height in his desire to break his own two-year-old national indoor record of 5.91m but he was unsuccessful.
“Indoor season finally kicked off… Thank you for having us and putting on a great atmosphere,” Obiena wrote on his social media.
Portugal’s Pedro Buaro clinched the silver medal with 5.73m while United States’ Olen Tray bagged the bronze with 5.61m.
Up next for Obiena will be the ISTAF Indoor on Friday, Feb. 23, where he hopes to eclipse his last year’s performance of 5.82m for silver medal behind world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden (6.06m).
The Berlin tournament, an Indoor Tour Silver type event, is the warm event for
the World Indoor Championship slated in Glasgow, Scotland on March 3.
This would be the first time that Obienawill be competing in the world indoor tilt, which will gather some of the world’s finest pole vaulters.
