Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena retained his crown in the Asian Athletics Championships in thrilling fashion on Saturday, May 31, at the Gumi Civic Stadium in Gumi, South Korea.

Obiena was pushed to a jump-off by his training partner, China’s Huang Bokai, but emerged triumphant after clearing 5.77 meters in his first attempt.

Huang faltered at the mark, and settled for the silver medal.

Thailand’s Patsapong Amsamarng completed the podium after clearing a personal best of 5.67 meters.

Obiena and Huang had gone toe-to-toe, with both athletes clearing 5.72 meters in their first attempt.

They skipped the 5.77 meters, but both men failed to clear 5.82 meters in their three tries at the height.

The bar was then brought back down to 5.77 meters, and Huang again could not clear the height.

Obiena then proceeded to show his poise in a crunch-time situation, clearing 5.77 meters on his first try to win his third consecutive gold medal in the Asian Athletics Championships.

Another Filipino bet, Hokett delos Santos, finished 13th after clearing 4.97 meters.

He was just ahead of Malaysia’s Muhammad Naufal Shahrul Afzam due to countback.

Meanwhile, Filipino-American athlete Robyn Brown failed to defend her title in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, finishing fifth with a time of 56.98 seconds.

China’s Mo Jiadie took the gold at 55.31 seconds, followed by Oluwakemi Mujidat Adekoya of Bahrain (55.32 seconds) and India’s Vithya Ramraj (56.46 seconds). (ABS-CBN News)