MANILA, Philippines — Not even the drizzle could shake and stop Ernest John "EJ" Obiena from defending his men's pole vault title at the 20th Asian Games in Japan. Obiena seized the gold medal with a new meet record of 5.91m clearance at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium Tuesday evening, eclipsing the 5.90m mark he posted in the previuous edition in Hangzhou, China back in 2023. This is the third time that Obiena soared past the 5.90m height this season. Obiena thus gave the Philippines its third gold medal in the ongoing meet after gymnast Carlos Yulo's golds in floor exercise and vault. Chinese Yao Jie finished second to Obiena with a 5.70m clearance, defeating his compatriot Li Chengyang via countback.