Filipino pole vault ace EJ Obiena capped his season with a golden finish, winning the first-ever Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge before a roaring home crowd on Sunday night at the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati City.
Obiena cleared 5.80 meters on his second attempt, enough to secure victory over Frenchman Thibaut Collet, who managed the same height but only on his final try.
The tiebreak favored Obiena, handing him the top podium in the competition he himself spearheaded to showcase world-class pole vault action in the Philippines.
The 29-year-old also matched his season-best clearance of 5.80 meters, a height he previously achieved in three other international meets this year—at the Orlen Copernicus Cup in February, the PATAFA Philippine Pole Vault Challenge in May, and the Meeting Madrid in July.
Tension built late in the contest when Collet gambled by skipping to 5.90 meters after Obiena failed to clear 5.85 in two attempts. Left to chase a higher bar, the Filipino also came up short in his lone try at 5.90.
With the crowd anxiously watching, Collet needed to reproduce his Tokyo Worlds performance by clearing 5.90 to snatch the crown, but three consecutive misses sealed Obiena’s triumph.
The rain-soaked fans erupted as Obiena celebrated with a raised fist and a backflip in the landing pit, relishing the victory on home soil.
The win comes at the end of a roller-coaster year for Obiena, who slipped to world No. 7 and missed the finals of the World Championships after medaling in the last two editions.
