ERNEST John “EJ” Obiena will be one of the Philippines’ biggest gold-medal bets at the 2026 Asian Games as he looks to defend his men’s pole vault title and potentially improve his own Asian record in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Obiena was among just four Filipino athletes who captured gold for the country at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where the Philippines finished with four gold, two silver and 12 bronze medals.
The Philippines is aiming to surpass that haul in Nagoya, with the Philippine Olympic Committee setting a target of at least eight gold medals from its 464-athlete delegation competing in 39 sports.
Obiena enters the competition as the No. 11-ranked pole vaulter in the world and remains the highest-ranked Asian in the event.
He has also been in strong form this season, collecting nine gold medals in 2026. His latest major victory came in August at the Golden Sand competition in Miedzyzdroje, Poland, where he cleared a season-best 5.91 meters.
That performance came against strong international competition, including Qatar’s Seifeldin Abdelsalam and Saudi Arabia’s Hussain Al-Hizam.
Abdelsalam is expected to be one of Obiena’s toughest challengers in Nagoya. The Qatari vaulter cleared 5.90 meters in Sopot, Poland, on August 20 to establish a new personal best.
China is also expected to provide competition through world No. 20 Li Chenyang, who owns a personal best of 5.86 meters, and world No. 22 Huang Bokai, whose best mark stands at 5.85 meters.
Obiena, meanwhile, is training in Athens, Greece under Polish coach Marcin Szczepanski as he fine-tunes his preparation for the Asian Games.
Beyond simply retaining his title, the Filipino star will be chasing another milestone in Nagoya either matching or improving the Asian record he already holds.
With the Philippines hoping to build on its four-gold performance in Hangzhou, Obiena carries one of the clearest gold-medal opportunities for Team Pilipinas as he attempts to rule the Asian pole vault competition once again. (Jesus Nathaniel Valdez)
