Ernest John ‘EJ’ Obiena tripped on the wet runway at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium during practice.
Morning rain had left the surface slick, and a misstep sent the Filipino pole vault star crashing, scraping his left arm and leaving him with fresh burns hours before the day’s biggest battle.
By nightfall, Obiena had turned that stumble into a statement.
‘Some slippage. I had an accident this morning. I tripped and fell,’ Obiena said, pointing to the burns on his arm. ‘It is what it is sometimes. It’s not the best condition, but the jumps are not terrible.’
The 30-year-old world No. 11 closed his season with a gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games, clearing 5.75 meters to beat a 12-man field before soaring over 5.91 meters on his final attempt to break his own Games record of 5.90 meters set in Hangzhou three years ago.
It was Obiena’s 10th victory of the year, capping a long season with a continental crown earned under relentless rain-and the constant pressure of delivering like only he can.
From February to September, Obiena competed across continents, collecting medals along the way.
With his rediscovered joy for competition, it looks like Obiena will keep his schedule filled next year. ‘I’ll just keep doing what I do,’ he said. ‘I have a different perspective in my event. The things that I do, I’m enjoying it again. I’m happy to be going in training, I’m happy to be here and compete. I’m happy to take the risks, the highs and the lows of the sport.’
The conditions were far from ideal, with the rain bringing back memories of the difficult weather Obiena endured at the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia three years ago.
Still, Obiena was the only athlete to clear 5.75 meters. China’s Yao Jie and Li Chenyang both managed 5.70 meters to take silver and bronze, respectively.
With the gold secured, Obiena went after something more.
He pushed the bar to 5.91 meters.
Obiena cleared it on his final attempt, matching his season best from Poland and adding another Games record to a résumé that already includes the Asian record of 6.00 meters and back-to-back Asian Games titles.
It was a fitting finish to a season for Obiena, who can now be content after a highly successful year.
‘I’m satisfied. The Games record was already won,’ Obiena said. ‘I think I have a good jump in me. That’s pretty much the story. I’m better, that’s for sure. I’m getting smarter.’
Meanwhile, Carlo Paalam will try to move closer to the gold that has eluded the country’s boxing team since Guangzhou in 2010.
The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist will face Kazakhstan’s Makhmud Sabyrkhan in the semifinals Wednesday at Nishio Gymnasium.