Ernest John Obiena ruled the Piazza International Pole Vault Meeting last Saturday in Prato dela Valle, Italy.
The 23-year-old Obiena cleared 5.5 meters on one of his attempts to claim his second gold medal since winning the Asian Championship last April.
Last April, Obiena cleared 5.71 meters to win the gold medal to beat two Chinese foes on Easter Sunday in the 23rd Asian Athletics Championship in Doha, Qatar at the Khalifa stadium.
In doing so Obiena set a new course record and a new Philippine record as well, in getting past the last attempts of Chinese bets Zhang Wei and Huang Bokai.
This time, there was an opportunity to set another Philippine record.
But, Obiena was not able to clear 5.75 meters on all his three attempts.
