President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday congratulated Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena for bagging a gold medal for the country in the 19th Asian Games.
“Congratulations, EJ, on clinching our first gold in men’s pole vault at the 19th Asian Games!” Mr. Marcos said in his post on TwitterX.
The Olympian reigned supreme in the pole vault finals as he alone cleared the 5.75 meter mark for a new record after two attempts during the competition held in Hangzhou, China.
He then cleared 5.90 meters in one attempt to erase his minutes-old record, further cementing his gold medal win.
Obiena tried to clear 6.02 meters but failed to do so.
Prior to his gold-clinching jump, pole vault world no. 2 Obiena cleared 5.55 meters once.
Obiena’s jump broke the Asian Games record which was previously held by Seito Yamamoto of Japan at 5.70 meters.
The Filipino pole vaulter currently holds the Asian record at 6.0 meters.
President Marcos also conveyed his well wishes to the other athletes competing at the Asian Games.
“Kudos as well to Patrick King Perez, Jones Inso, Gideon Padua, Clemente Tabugara Jr., Alex Eala, and Francis Casey Alcantara for their outstanding performances in Taekwondo, Wushu, and Tennis! Best of luck to all our athletes competing ahead!” he said.