President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday congratulated pole vault champion EJ Obiena on winning at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Saturday night and taking home the nation’s first gold medal.
Marcos congratulated Obiena on X (formerly Twitter) after the pole vault king cleared 5.75 meters and later cleared 5.90 meters to clinch the gold medal.
“Congratulations, EJ, on clinching our first gold in the men’s pole vault at the 19th Asian Games!” Marcos said.
“Kudos as well to Patrick King Perez, Jones Inso, Gideon Padua, Clemente Tabugara Jr., Alex Eala and Francis Casey Alcantara for their outstanding performances in Taekwondo, Wushu, and Tennis! Best of luck to all our athletes competing ahead!” he added.
Obiena said he worked under pressure just to win the first gold medal for the Philippines. However, he said he felt the weight of the expectations, implying that living up to those expectations did take a toll on him.