Pole vaulter EJ Obiena’s career is soaring to greater heights. The athlete won four golds, one silver and three bronzes in international events between 2015 and 2022. He was ranked number three worldwide after securing the bronze at the World Athletics Championships in 2022.

In 2023, at the 17th Golden Roof Challenge in Austria, Obiena set a new Asian and meet record of 5.93m in the men’s pole vaulting competition. His stunning performance allowed him to surpass the US’s Christopher Nilsen and take the number two spot in the global men’s pole vault rankings behind Sweden’s Armand Duplantis.

Obiena also takes the time to encourage a new generation of athletes. “I’ve been helping kids,” he said. “I did a Zoom meeting where I talked to young Filipino athletes and connected them with elite pole vaulters in 2020.” The athlete added how he helped indigenous children in Katutubo Village in Porac, Pampanga, in Central Luzon, with their medical needs—his way of giving youngsters the same support he received when he started competitive athletics at eight years old.

Obiena revealed how aspiring pole vaulters in the rural areas of the Philippines use fibreglass poles and sawdust to train. After winning the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, he auctioned off the customised shoes he wore during the competition. “All money will go to buying a new pole vault pit or a second-hand pole vault pit. If we can’t get the actual size, then we’ll get something—just not sawdust,” he shared.