By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Filipino pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena returned to his winning ways after ruling the Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany yesterday (Philippine time).

Obiena, the first Filipino athlete to earn qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics, cleared the 5.92-meter mark in his third attempt to take home the men’s pole vault gold medal.

The former University of Santo Tomas athletics standout attempted to breach his personal record when he tried the 6.01-meter mark, but was unsuccessful.

Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen settled for a silver medal finish, while American KC Lightfoot got the bronze medal as both pole vaulters failed to make it past 5.82 meters.

“Finally, got this outdoor trophy after so many years of coming up short,” Obiena wrote on his Facebook post.

“Happy for today and we go back at it in three days,” he added.

It was a favorable performance for the 6-foot-3 Obiena after finishing in 10th and last place in the latest leg of the Diamond League in Zurich on August 31.

Prior to his debacle in Zurich, Obiena repeated his personal best of six meters during his silver medal finish at the world athletics championships in Budapest two weeks ago.

Obiena’s gold medal feat in Germany gave Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino the hope that the Filipino pole vaulter would have a podium finish in the Paris Summer Games.

“He’s making sure he’ll get there,” Tolentino said.

“It’s not only skills and physicality that’s gone elite on EJ, but his focus and mental approach to his sport,” he added.

According to Tolentino, only the world’s record holder, Armand Duplantis of Sweden, is standing in the way of the world no. 2 ranked pole vaulter, Obiena.

“It’s a year to go before Paris. One full year for EJ to get better and better,” Tolentino said.

“He’ll have plenty of time to focus on setting the bar higher, and qualifying for Paris won’t be one of his challenges anymore. He’s in,” he added./ASC, WDJ