EJ Obiena clears 5.75m to rule Raiffeisen Open in Eisenstadt, Austria

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 Mr. Obiena, who by just a few months decided to go under the former’s stewardship, cleared 5.75 meters (m) to rule the Raiffeisen Austrian Open in Eisenstadt, Austria on Thursday.

Great Britain’s Owen Heard took the silver with a 5.55m after 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 Czesław Cybulski Memorial in Poznan, Poland just a few days back.

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

It may still be far from his best clearance — a flat 6m he had four years ago when he peaked at No. 2 in the world rankings — but an improvement, even if it’s small, is still improvement.

And Mr. Szczepanski is a believer of progress more than perfection.

It was evidenced by his laugh on a video Mr. Obiena posted right after he cleared 5.75m.

It could have been better if not for the strong winds that delayed the competition a bit.

“The wind, sometimes maybe good, sometimes bad,” said Mr. Obiena on social media. — Joey Villar