Halberstadt, Germany, August 3, 2026: Asian Games pole vault champion Ernest “EJ” Obiena warmed up for his title defence at Aichi-Nagoya next month by winning the inaugural Halberstadt meet in Germany on August 1.
The 30-year-old Filipino cleared 5.76 metres on his first attempt to take gold and put him in good spirits in the build-up to the 20thAsian Games, which will run from September 19 to October 4.
Seifeldin Abdelsalam (Qatar) was second with 5.66m and Cole Walsh (United States) took the bronze with 5.56m.
“Thank you Halberstadt for the wonderful time. What a beautiful venue with an amazing crowd. Happy to get the gold with a 5.76m,” he posted on social media.
Obiena, a two-time Olympian at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, was crowned Asian Games men’s pole vault champion at Hangzhou 2022. He has also won the Asian Championships on three occasions.