Fresh from a bronze-medal win, Obiena to leap in virtual tourney


Obiena 'honored' to compete with fellow Olympians
ej obiena
Philippines' top pole vaulter EJ Obiena strikes a pose after winning bronze in the IAAF World Diamond League Athletics Series in Monaco. (Photo from EJ Obiena's Facebook page)

Fresh from a bronze medal stint in Monaco, Olympic pole vaulter EJ Obiena returns to his training center in Formia, Italy to participate in the “Who is the finest pole vaulter in the world?” virtual competition on Monday.

The friendly event, brought by Fine Guard Sport, will have Obiena going up against fellow Tokyo Olympians Pawel Wojciechowski of Poland, Matt Ludwig and a “mystery competitor”.

Each competitor will be streamed live as they vault in their respective training locations. It will be transmitted via finestvaulter.com.

“I am honored to be part of a virtual pole vault competition with three Tokyo Olympians!” Obiena said in a Facebook post.

Pawel, 31, is a former world champion currently ranked 8th in the world with a personal best of 5.93 meters at the tournament in Switzerland in 2017. The 24-year-old Ludwig, meanwhile, has a personal best of 5.90m posted last February in a tournament in Mexico.

No details are available for the fourth mystery competitor, except he is also competing in next year's Tokyo Games.

Obiena also boasts of impressive credentials, having ranked 16th in the world with a personal best of 5.81m.

He is coming off a 5.70m performance in the IAAF World Diamond League Athletics in Monaco last Friday.

READ: EJ Obiena laments ‘mental blackout’ despite podium finish

This would be Obiena’s third competition in the season, including a silver-medal feat in Trieste, Italy early this month.

READ: Competing again feels like gold medal for EJ Obiena