Another feat for the Filipino pole vault star.
In the latest rankings issued by the World Athletics organization, it revealed the position of male pole vaulters around the globe as of Tuesday, October 6.
In the said list, two-time Olympiad and back-to-back Asian Games gold medalist EJ Obiena was able to bounce back and re-enter the Top 10 after sitting outside of the list for quite some time.
Energized by the news, EJ shared his latest achievement in an Instagram post containing the screenshot of the rankings.
“Crawled my way back to the Top 10 in the [world],” he said.
He then quoted German philosopher Friedrich Nietszche, who said: “I know of no better life purpose than to perish in attempting the great and the impossible. The fact that something seems impossible shoudn’t be a reason to not pursue it. That’s exactly what makes it worth pursuing. Where would the courage and greatness be, if success is certain and there was no risk? The only true failure is shrinking away from life’s challenges.”
“We are so back baby!!!” the 30-year-old concluded his post.
Meanwhile, Armand Duplantis continues to lead the list, followed by Emmanoiil Karalis in number 2. Kurtis Marschall, Sondre Guttormsen, and Sam Kendrick round up the Top 5.
Meanwhile, completing the Top 10 are Baptiste Thiery, Christopher Nilsen, Zachery Bradford, Thibaut Collet, and Obiena.
At the recent Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, EJ secured the gold medal after successfully going above the four different heights. The pole vaulter even upped the ante in the finale as he smashed his own record that he did in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games in China by reaching 5.91 meters.
Aside from leading in the Asian Games, Obiena is also a two-time defending champion and record holder at the Asian Athletics Championships, having earned three gold medals and one bronze at the Asian Championships.
He also has well as four gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games, where he is also a record-holder after clearing 5.65 meters.
Throughout the past few months, EJ also scored a total of 10 medals—the most that he has gotten in a single season in his career so far.
