Pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena made the most of his return to the Philippines by hitting a season best 5.80 meters in the PATAFA Pole Vault Challenge at the Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus, Cavite yesterday.

Obiena dominated the local tournament despite the heavy downpour in his first local tournament since the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2019.

The 29-year-old pole vaulter is using this competition as part of his build-up for the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea from 27 to 31 May.

“Happy to jump a new SB at my home track,” Obiena said.

Yan-Han Wu of Taiwan took second place over Hokket delos Santos despite both pole vaulters tallying 5.15m.

In the women's division, Amy Christensen of FILAM Sports' jumped 3.80m for the gold medal and defeated ICTSI Philippines Athletics Championships gold medalist Alyana Nicolas, who settled for silver with 3.60m.

Jessa Marie Libres jumped 3.50m for the bronze medal.