EJ OBIENA successfully defended his pole vault crown by taking the 20th Asian Games at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
Obiena won the country’s third gold following his fellow Olympian Carlos Yulo, beating Yao Jie of China.
Obiena won in style, notching a new Asian Games record of 5.91 meters on his first try, erasing the old mark by 0.01 that he set in the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The Asian Games was also Obiena’s last competition of the 2026 season, with the world No. 11 pole vaulter matching his season-best that he recorded last August in The Golden Sand competition in Poland.
The 30-year-old Obiena easily cleared 5.50, 5.70, and 5.75 on the first try, putting pressure on his opponents including his two Chinese opponents Yao Jie and Li Chenyang, who had the same mark of 5.70 with Yao winning via countback.
Obiena moved up to 5.80, but failed to clear in his first two attempts, but that proved to be enough. After missing 5.75 on his first attempt, Li raised the bar at 5.80 but failed to clear in his last two attempts, giving the gold to Obiena.
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