OLYMPIAN pole-vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena delivered his best performance of the season as he cleared 5.91 meters in snaring the silver medal in the Perch Elite Tour in Rouen, France on Sunday.
Mr. Obiena, 26, needed just one attempt in eclipsing his previous season best of 5.81m he set twice in Poland last month and the old national record of 5.86m he registered in last year’s Orlen Cup also in Poland.
The World No. 5, whose best is a current Asian record 5.93m he inked in the Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria a year ago, went for a career best 6.01m, but failed in three attempts.
American Chris Nilsen, a 2021 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, seized the gold with an impressive 6.05m, which matched the season-best first set by Swedish Armand Duplantis last month.
Tokyo bronze medal winner Thiago Braz of Brazil copped the bronze with a 5.91m.
Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) national training director Renato Unso on Sunday told The STAR that Mr. Obiena’s recent would still be recognized as a national record even if the latter is not part of the national pool and isn’t endorsed by the former.
“All of his records, as long as World Athletics recognized the competition he joined, is valid and okay for PATAFA,” said Mr. Unso.
Mr. Obiena was expelled from the national team following his spat with PATAFA, which accused the former of allegedly falsifying liquidations regarding payments to Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov.
The Southeast Asian Games gold medalist denied it. — Joey Villar