Golden 5.75 meters for Obiena

MANILA, Philippines — You can hear it by the way pole vault coach Marcin Szczepanski was laughing at how his new student, Filipino EJ Obiena, is progressing.

The veteran Polish mentor was obviously ecstatic when Obiena cleared 5.75 meters to rule the Raiffeisen Austrian Open in Eisenstadt, Austria yesterday.

Great Britain’s Owen Heard took the silver with a 5.55m, edging Czechia’s Dan Barta via count back.

It was the second gold for the 30-year-old reigning Asian and Southeast Asian champion after his triumph in the Czes?aw Cybulski Memorial in Poznan, Poland a few days back.

More importantly, it was Obiena’s best performance under Szczepanski’s tutelage as it eclipsed the 5.74m he recorded in a meet in Dusseldorf, Germany last month.