Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena will be given a P1.5 million cash reward by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) after shattering the 23-year-old Asian record last September 11 (September 12, Manila time) in Austria.

The Philippine Sports Commission has already approved the financial reward in a recent board meeting.

The governing sports body will have to wait for confirmation from the World and Asian Athletics Federations if Obiena did indeed set a new Asian record.

According to Section 8 of the Republic Act 10699 or the expanded National Athletes, Coaches, and Trainers Benefits and Incentives Act of 2001, “national athletes and other athletes who surpass Philippine record or ranking in any measurable international sports competition shall be given cash incentives, the amount of which may be determined by the PSC.”

Obiena, who bagged the gold in the 2021 Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria, cleared 5.93 meters to eclipse the 5.92 Asian mark that was previously set by Igor Poptapovich of Kazakhstan in 1998.

The 25-year-old also broke his personal and national record of 5.91m in the Paris Diamond League.

Obiena's record-breaking performances did make up for his 11th-place finish in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.