City Council honors Manila athletes
THE City Council of Manila, led by Vice Mayor John Marvin “Yul Servo” Nieto unanimously passed two resolutions, 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, ranked second in men’s pole vault rankings by the World Athletics Organization.
In June, 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.
In July, 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.
Last September 6, he set a new tournament record of 5.92 meters in the NetAachen Domspringen competition held in Aachen, Germany, winning his second gold medal in as many days after clearing the same distance in the Internationales Stadionfest on September 4.
`Pioquinto, meanwhile, represented the country in the ASEAN Archery Youth Championships held in Cebu from August 16 to 19, 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 Districts, respectively. Edd Reyes
