EJ Obiena

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Uy and the surname or paternal family name is Obiena.

EJ Obiena
Obiena in 2022
Personal information
Full nameErnest John Uy Obiena
NicknameEJ
NationalityFilipino
Born (1995-11-17) November 17, 1995 (age 29)
Tondo, Manila, Philippines[1]
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese蔡華強
Simplified Chinese蔡华强
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinCài Huáqiáng
Southern Min
Hokkien POJChhòa Hôa-kiông
Sport
CountryPhilippines
SportTrack and field
EventPole vaulting
College teamAteneo de Manila University
University of Santo Tomas
Coached byEmerson Obiena
Vitaly Petrov (2014)
Achievements and titles
Highest world rankingNo. 2 (2023)
Personal bests
  • Pole vault: 6.00m (2023, NR and AR)
  • 110 m hurdles 14.39 (2017)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  Philippines
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Athletics Championships 0 1 1
Asian Games 1 0 0
Asian Athletics Championships 2 0 1
Universiade 1 0 0
Southeast Asian Games 3 1 0
Total 7 2 2
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Budapest Pole vault
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Eugene Pole vault
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hangzhou Pole vault
Asian Athletics Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Doha Pole vault
Gold medal – first place 2023 Bangkok Pole vault
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Bhubaneswar Pole vault
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2019 Naples Pole vault
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Philippines Pole vault
Gold medal – first place 2021 Vietnam Pole vault
Gold medal – first place 2023 Cambodia Pole vault
Silver medal – second place 2015 Singapore Pole vault

Ernest John Uy Obiena (born November 17, 1995[3][4]) is a Filipino pole vaulter. He is currently ranked world No. 3 in men's pole vault by the 2024 World Athletics Rankings.[5][6]

Obiena currently holds the Asian record with his clearance of 6.00 meters at the 2023 World Athletics Championships where he won the silver medal.[7] He also holds the Philippine national record with a clearance of 5.93 meters at the Golden Rooftop Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria on September 11, 2021.[8] Obiena is the current champion and record holder (5.90 m) of the Asian Games. He is also the two-time defending champion and current record holder (5.91 m) in the Asian Athletics Championships and three-time defending champion and current record holder (5.65 m) in the SEA Games. He also won the gold medal in the 2019 Summer Universiade held in Naples, Italy and has competed in the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.

Obiena is the first Filipino to receive a scholarship from the International Athletic Association Federation (IAAF).[1][9]

  1. ^ a b "Obiena breaks PH's 100-year gold-medal drought in Asian pole vault". The Manila Times. May 20, 2019.
  2. ^ "OBIENA Ernest John". Paris 2024 Olympics. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  3. ^ "Ernest John OBIENA | Profile | World Athletics".
  4. ^ Giongco, Nick (February 23, 2016). "Obiena places 4th, fails Olympic bid". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  5. ^ "Men's Pole Vault 2024". World Athletics Organization. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  6. ^ "EJ Obiena slips to no. 3 in world rankings". www.gmanetwork.com. August 16, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  7. ^ "Pole Vault Final Results". World Athletics. August 26, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  8. ^ Delfin Dioquino (September 12, 2021). "EJ Obiena breaks Asian record, bags gold in Austria". rappler.com. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  9. ^ "Before each leap of faith, Tokyo 2020-bound EJ Obiena is calm under pressure". ABS-CBN News.