THE gods must have descended from Mount Olympus on Ernest John ‘EJ’ Obiena who soared to 5.91 meters-a height he hasn’t cleared in two years-to win gold at the Golden Sand 2026 Meet at the Promenada Gwiazd in Miedzyzdroje, Poland, on Tuesday.
Obiena moved camp from Formia in Italy to Athens in Greece last June 10 and has been flying over and above his opponents since-he has collected so far five gold and two silver medals.
And in Miedzyzdroje, he was unbeatable at 5.91m, beating with enough to spare 21-year-old Qatari Seifeldin Abdelsalam (5.75m) and American Cole Walsh (5.70m) in a countback over Hussain Al-Hizam of Saudi Arabia.
‘It’s been a while. I can’t remember when was the last time I hit 5.91 meters…maybe 2024?’ Obiena told the BusinessMirror over the phone. ‘I was surprised, but I if I stay healthy and in good condition, I believe I can jump consistently and even higher-and that is the goal.’
The last time Obiena passed the 5.90-mark was in June 2024 when he won gold at the Irena Szewinska Memorial in Poland at 5.97m and at the 2023 Asian Championships in Bangkok, at 5.91m.
The 30-year-old Obiena went for 6.0 meters but missed thrice-he’s one of only 24 members of the 6.0 Meters Club for having made the height in a gold medal-winning effort at the Vest Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway on June 10, 2023, and at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in October 2023 where he got silver Olympic and world champion and record breaker Armand Duplantis.
Obiena said he wants to do more.
‘A lot of things to be done and I believe I can get it done [clearing higher bar]. It just a matter of time but again this is not my best yet,’ said the former world No. 2 and Asian champion and record holder said.
Obiena’s previous season best was at 5.85m that earned him silver at the Meeting de Madrid last July 17.
His got his other gold medals at the Czeslaw Cybulski Memorial in Poznan last June 30, Raiffeisen Austrian Open last July 2 in Eisenstadt in Halberstadter and Internationale Stabhochsprungmon in Jockrim in Germany early this month under new coach Marcin Szczepanski of Poland.
‘It was also huge that I transferred my training venue to Athens, Greece as I learned a lot of things under new coach Marcin,’ he said.
‘And I am looking forward to the Asian Games although I have no idea how many tournaments before I compete in the Asiad,’ the current world No. 13 added.
The Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games are set September 19 to October 4.