EJ Obiena broke the 23-year Asian record to earn him a gold medal at the 2021 Golden Roof Challenge on Saturday (Sunday in the Philippines) in Austria.

 

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics bet set a new record of 5.93 meters, which shattered the mark of 5.92 meters achieved by Kazakhstan’s Igor Potapovich in 1998.

 

The 25-year old recently bested his own national-record of 5.91, which translated into silver finish into Paris Diamond League last month.

 

USA's Matt Ludwig took home the silver medal, while Turkey’s Ersu Sasma finished with bronze.

 

“I wanted this (2021 Golden Roof Challenge championship) so bad. I couldn’t have done it without all of you guys,” Obiena said, as he became emotional in front of the crowd.

 

His other competitors were Authorized Neutral Athletes’ Timur Morgunov, Netherlands’ Menno Vloon, and Austria’s Riccard Klotz.