by Dylan Bothamley Ernest John “EJ” Uy Obiena was the first athlete to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics for the Philippines national team.
The 27-year-old Obiena grew up in the Tondo district of Manila and is the current Asian record holder in pole vaulting.
He punched his ticket to the Olympics by winning the silver medal at the prestigious BAHAUS-Galan in Stockholm last year, finishing behind only world record holder Armand Duplantis in that qualifying event.
This will be Obiena’s second Olympic appearance, having previously competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. In Tokyo, Obiena finished 11th overall with a mark of 5.70 meters.
In the time since his Olympic debut, Obiena has risen in stature and is considered to be one of the top contenders for a medal in the Men’s pole vault event at the 2024 Olympics.
He is currently ranked fourth in the world in the event, and perhaps more notably set a personal best of 6.0 meters in the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
That mark would have won the Silver in the 2020 Olympics.
Obiena’s personal best also granted him entry to the storied “six-meters club” so named for the feat of clearing a vault height of six meters, something only 28 athletes have ever done in the history of the sport.
He has truly risen to superstar status in the sport.
Obiena’s participation in the 2024 Olympics is a major milestone for Philippine athletics, and there is a very real chance he could bring the Philippines a podium finish.
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