The City Council of Manila unanimously passed two resolutions Tuesday, 5 September 2023, commending pole vaulter Ernest John Obenia and archer Samantha Alexis Pioquinto, both residents of Manila, for honoring the country with their recent victories in international competitions.
Obenia, who competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is ranked second in the world in the men’s pole vault rankings by the World Athletics Organization.
In June 2023, he became the first Asian to join the exclusive “six-meter club” when he cleared six meters en route to winning the Bergen Jump Challenge held in Norway.
The following month, July 2023, he cleared 5.82 meters at the Bauhaus-Galan leg of the Diamond League in Stockholm, Sweden, earning him a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
On 6 September 2023, he set a new tournament-record of 5.92 meters in the NetAachen Domspringen competition held in in Aachen, Germany, winning his second gold medal in as many days after clearing the same height in the Internationales Stadionfest on 4 September.
Pioquinto, meanwhile, represented the country in the ASEAN Archery Youth Championships held in Cebu from 16 to 19 August 2023, bagging the gold medal in the Under 21 Women’s Team Event, as well as bronze medals in the Overall Qualifying Round Individual and Olympic Round Individual categories.
A senior high school student from Sta. Ana, Manila, Pioquinto competed in this year’s Palarong Pambansa, representing the National Capital Region.
The resolutions were principally authored by Councilors Numero “Uno” G. Lim and Benny “Fog” Abante III of the Second and Sixth District, respectively.
