Obiena takes gold at foggy Taiwan meet
WORLD NO. 4 EJ Obiena flew to Nantou City for one thing only — to rule the Taiwan International Pole Vault competition.
And that the Asian champion and record-holder from Tondo did with aplomb after he ruled the meet held at the Sun Moon Lake in foggy conditions.
Mr. Obiena took the gold with a 5.5-meter (m) clearance, ahead of American Matt Ludwig, who snared the silver with a 5.3 m.
The 25-man field also included another Filipino, a young Hokket delos Santos, tipped as Mr. Obiena’s successor to the throne, who cleared a personal-best 5.15 m, good for 10th place.
“I had a new experience (on Monday). I had my first fog warning in the midst of a pole vault competition, in Taiwan. With roughly 10 meters visibility, you just disappear. Talk about a leap of faith, he said.
“I am thankful to have won the competition under such murky conditions! We can’t always have sunny skies and perfect weather.”
Mr. Obiena said he learned a lot in Taiwan.
“We have to persevere through all kinds of adversity. This was a new kind of adversity and I learned from it,” he said. — Joey Villar
