ATHLETICS: EJ Obiena wins pole-vault gold in Germany

The Philippines’ EJ Obiena jumped his way to a gold medal at the International Springer-Meeting at the Lausitz Arena in Cottbus on January 29, 2026.

Menno Vloon of the Netherlands cleared the same height of 5.77 meters, making them co-gold medalists. This is the first time the event had two gold medalists.

The organizers, who initially held a jump-off to decide the winner, declared both Obiena and Vloon co-winners after both did not clear 5.84m with the same number of attempts.

The two-time Olympian snatched a bronze at the 6th ISTAF Indoor Dusseldorf earlier this week. Obiena’s Germany performance is his best so far this year.