EJ Obiena sustained his streak of podium finishes in the time of pandemic, bagging a silver medal in the virtual ‘Who is the Finest Pole Vaulter in the World’ competition in Formia, Italy.
The Filipino pole vaulter cleared the bar at 5.60 meters in his Italian training camp on Tuesday to place runner-up behind Thiago Braz da Silva. The reigning Olympic gold medalist from Brazil cleared 5.70 meters.
Obiena and Braz both train in Italy.
US indoor champion Matt Ludwig finished third with 5.35 meters.
This is the second podium finish for the 24-year-old athlete in a three-day span. He bagged the bronze medal in Saturday’s Diamond League in Monaco, where he posted a season-best vault of 5.70 meters.
Earlier, he won a silver in the Triveneto Meet in Trieste with a jump of 5.45 meters in his first active competition since being locked down in Italy five months ago following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The week has been a productive one for Filipino athletes overseas.
Just last Sunday, Yuka Saso won her first JLPGA title after bagging the NEC title in Japan. The victory was worth P6.58 million
Saso and Obiena are just two of the Filipinos who won medals internationally the past few weeks that also include Rio De Janeiro Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz and karateka James Delos Santos.
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