TORUN, Poland — Even with his two gold medal wins in Poland, the country's premier pole vaulter Ernest John 'EJ' Obiena is still unsure if he would qualify to compete in the World Indoor Championships scheduled next month in Nanjing, China.

After recent failures, Obiena rediscovered his winning form to secure his second gold medal of the year with a season-best performance in the Orlen Copernicus Cup in the medieval city of Toruń in northern Poland.

The 29-year-old pole vaulter from Tondo, Manila got back on track after placing seventh in the Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) Indoor competitions in Dusseldorf, Germany and ninth in the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais Tropee in France by clearing 5.80 meters to capture the gold.

But the second gold and third podium finish of the season for Obiena, who topped the Meeting Metz Moselle Athlelor in France and placed second in the International Springer-Meeting Cottbus in Germany, wasn't enough to qualify for the 2025 World Indoor Championships in Nanjing.

Disgruntled with his performance, he lamented that he is far from satisfied as he failed to hit 5.85m, which is the qualifying mark for the Nanjing championships this March.

“I needed to jump 5.85 to qualify for the World Indoor Championships. I am not sure if I get any more chances before the end of the qualifying period,” he enthused.

However, the world’s number four can still make the cut until March 9.

The qualification period for the World Indoor Championships began on September 1, but Obiena already cut his 2024 season short by then due to a spine injury and missed four remaining meets lined up for him in the past year.