UST’s Ernest Obiena broke the Philippine pole vaulting record anew at the 8th Stabhochsprung Classic at Leverkusen, Germany Friday.
Obiena registered a towering vault of 5.61 meters in his first attempt, surpassing his previous record of 5.55 meters set in Singapore last year.
“[The poles] felt stronger than they should have been so I tried to be strong and focused,” he told the Varsitarian in an online interview.
Earlier this month, Obiena was on the verge of missing the Southeast Asian Games after his poles were damaged in a flight to Italy.
Read more: http://varsitarian.net/sports/news/20170709/ust-pole-vaulters-sea-games-run-in-peril
But last July 25, he received five fiber glass poles from the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) and three more from other sponsors.
Obiena said he was now “fairly confident” in the upcoming SEA Games on August 19 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“I want to be consistent at these heights so I can have a good placing in the SEA Games,” Obiena said.
