By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Pole vaulter EJ Obiena added another feather to his cap by ruling the Taby Stavhoppsgala meet in Taby, Sweden Tuesday.
The 26-year-old Tokyo Olympian posted a season-best 5.92 meters on his second attempt to dominate the seven-player field that included 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist Thiago Braz of Brazil.
His previous season best in an outdoor event was 5.85m at the L’Aquila leg of the European City of Sports tournament in Italy last May.
Obiena tried to better his Asian record of 5.93m by attempting to clear 6.01m tries, but fouled in all occasions.
Braz came in second in 5.82m while Simon Guttormsen of Norway finished third with 5.72m.
This was Obiena’s first tournament after contracting Covid-19 a few weeks ago that saw him miss two tournaments.
The title was the third straight for Obiena this year, having topped the Hanoi SEA Games and European City of Sports in Italy in May, and fifth overall this year.
Obiena’s next tournament will be the Bauhaus Galan Wanda Diamond League Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden on Thursday.
