WINNING is never guaranteed—even for the World No. 4 pole vaulter—as Ernest John (EJ) Obiena described his recent gold medal at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships as one of the toughest of his career.
Competing on Saturday in Gumi, South Korea, Obiena secured his third Asian Championships gold by edging out China’s Huang Bokai (silver) and Thailand’s Patsapong Amsamarng (bronze).
Though already a decorated athlete with multiple golds and regional records, Obiena still took a moment to reflect and admit that this latest triumph ranks as his most difficult yet.
Keeping It Real
It wasn’t easy; Bokai pushed Obiena to his limits, but the latter was able to edge him out. Both of them failed to pass 5.82m in three attempts, while the Filipino impressively cleared 5.77m on his first effort.
“For sure. I mean, I think it’s the hardest one out of the three that I’ve won. I’m happy to come out with the win, actually. It’s not your standard championship, I would say,” Obiena told the media.
This year’s tournament lasted over five hours and had no qualifying rounds, demonstrating that sports are more than just physical competitions, which took its toll on even the most experienced participants.
“We were 15 or 16 athletes, if I’m not mistaken. The first bar, it took at least like a good 45 minutes to finish,” Obiena looked back.
“It just took forever. I think they really underestimated the quality of the field this year. Last Asian Championship, 50 would get you a podium finish. This time around, it didn’t,” he went on to explain.
Business As Usual
Obiena felt the pressure when he knew what he was in for. He’s up against familiar people, one of which being his teammate Bokai. Despite this, he wanted to be a good sport and support him, but it was business as usual.
“My training partner was there, and it was quite challenging, especially because he’s also a good friend of mine. You try to stay focused, but at the same time, you want to root for your teammate,” the Olympian admitted.
What made this third gold tough was that all of these events were occurring at the same time, when he was battling with a bacterial infection in his throat and was having difficulty getting medicine in Korea.
Still and all, Obiena draws inspiration from all of his experiences, including the encouragement of his great coach, Vitaly Petrov, who will join him ahead of a busy schedule in Europe.
“I’m stopping by Munich for a short time and then Rome will be my next stop,” said Obiena. “I’m going to the Netherlands in Hengelo on the 9th. Then Oslo for the Diamond League and Stockholm.”
Before starting the European circuit, Obiena heads back to Italy to rest and refine his plans with coach Petrov — a crucial reset ahead of his main goal this year: the World Championships in Tokyo this September.
