EJ Obiena registered another record-breaking performance Saturday (Sunday in Manila) when he ruled the 17th Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria.
The 25-year-old Olympian cleared 5.93 meters on his final attempt to post a new Asian record and eclipse his national mark.
His feat surpassed the 5.92m record of Igor Potapovich of Kazakhstan set in Stockholm, Sweden in in 1998 and his own PH record of 5.91m he posted in the Meeting de Paris Wanda Diamond League in France late August.
Obiena dominated 2020 US Indoor Champion Matt Ludwig and fellow Olympian Ersu Sasma of Turkey, who posted identical 5.60m marks.
This was Obiena’s fifth tournament after the Tokyo Games. He was coming off a fourth-place finish in the Wanda Diamond League Finals in Zurich, Switzerland where he posted 5.83m.
His previous finishes include a runner-up finish in Poland (5.80m), 10th place finish in the Allianz Memorial Van Damme Wanda Diamond League in Brussels, Belgium (5.65m), Paris Diamond League (5.91m) and Athletissima Wanda Diamond League (5.52m).
Obiena has been trying to move forward from an 11th place finish in the Tokyo Games where he finished with 5.70m.
The Tondo native has been training extensively in Italy in preparation for future tournaments such as the 2022 Asian Games.