Ernest John Obiena reached a new season-best 5.85 meters to clinch the silver medal at the Meeting Madrid in Spain last Friday (Manila time).

Obiena, 30, cleared the height in his second attempt, surpassing his previous season-best of 5.81m at the Fly Athens Street Pole Vault competition in Greece on 6 July.

He had a chance to win the tournament but failed to clear 5.95m.

Bo Kanda Lita Baehre of Germany topped the Spanish meet, which is a bronze event in the World Athletics Continental Tour, after clearing 5.90m, while Pedro Buaro also registered 5.85 meters but lost via countback.

Obiena is pleased with his consistent performances at the 5.80m mark.

The reigning Asian Games champion also cleared 5.80m in the Gyulai István Memorial-Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix in Budapest last Wednesday.

“Green socks for the green track of Madrid 5.85m for 2nd place and SB here. Thank you for having us. Will get this bar next time,” Obiena said on social media.

Obiena is gearing up for the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan from 19 September to 4 October, where he has a chance not only to defend his title but also to reset the Asian Games record of 5.90m that he set in Hangzhou, China in 2023.

Obiena has been training under Polish coach Marcin Szczepanski since last month in Athens, ending his 12-year partnership with Ukrainian mentor Vitaly Petrov.