EJ Obiena set for Beijing test, Tokyo showdown before Manila homecoming

EJ Obiena is bracing for a busy September, beginning with the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold in Beijing tomorrow, September 7, before chasing another medal at the World Championships in Tokyo next week.

The world’s No. 5 pole vaulter said he is still working back into form but views Beijing as the ideal tune-up ahead of Tokyo, where the qualification round is on September 13 and the final is on September 15.

Obiena is looking to return to the podium after winning silver at the 2023 World Championships and bronze in 2022.

He will once again face Olympic champion and world record holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, along with top rivals Emmanouil Karalis of Greece and Kurtis Marschall of Australia. 

Other world-class vaulters, including Menno Vloon, Ersu Sasma, Thibaut Collet, Matt Ludwig, Ben Broeders, Oleg Zernikel, and Piotr Lisek, are also expected to compete in Tokyo.

The 29-year-old Olympian will then headline the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge on September 20-21 at Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati, an event organized with Ayala Corp. through his Atletang Ayala initiative.

The Manila competition will feature nine elite vaulters, including Sasma, Vloon, Collet, Broeders, Miller, Lisek, Zernikel, Ludwig and Obiena himself, all bringing Olympic, World Championships and European medals to the field.