Less than two years into pole vault, Jhobie Rosario leaves lasting Palarong Pambansa legacy

The pressure mounted for Franceine Jhobie Rosario when she found herself staring at a potential defeat in the secondary girls' pole vault finals of the 2026 Palarong Pambansa last Thursday in Agusan del Sur.

Although considered a serious title contender, the reigning champion Rosario was far from unchallenged as Bicol's Lyka Ramilo pushed her to the limit in their final head-to-head showdown.

But Rosario refused to let the moment overwhelm her to retain the crown. And she did so by eclipsing all of her previous best marks.

Rosario, a Grade 12 student at University of Santo Tomas and a rising star in the UAAP, cleared 3.15 meters to claim back-to-back pole vault titles.

That title-clinching mark allowed her to shatter her previous meet record of 2.75 meters and eclipse her personal best of 3.10 meters, which she achieved last March during a competition in Taiwan.

"Medyo kinabahan po ako kasi dikit po kami ng isa kong kalaban pero hindi ko po pinangunahan ‘yung kaba ko, nilakasan ko lang po ‘yung loob ko. Nagawa ko naman po nang maayos," Rosario said.

"Sobrang sarap po sa feeling kasi last year ko na po sa Palaro at may maiiwan po akong record bago ako umalis ng Palaro."

(I was a little nervous because it was close between me and one of my opponents but I didn't let the nerves get the better of me, I just gathered my courage. I was able to do it well... It feels really good because this is my last year in the Palaro and I will be able to leave a record before I go.)

But what makes Rosario's achievement even more remarkable is how quickly she has developed, considering she has been in the sport for less than two years.

Rosario was originally a sprinter before being introduced to pole vault less than two years ago. She immediately embraced pole vault and has since devoted herself to mastering it through rigorous training.

But Rosario, who's training under the wing of EJ Obiena's father Emerson, never let go of her first love. In fact, she also reigned in both the 100m and 200m events of the 2026 Palarong Pambansa, winning four gold medals in her final stint as she also got a gold in the 4x100m relay.

"Nu’ng una ko pong training, pina-try lang po ako and parang na-enjoy ko po kaya bumalik ako and nagtuloy-tuloy na po ‘yung training. Grade 11 po," she shared.

(In my first training, they just let me try and I enjoyed it so I came back. And it just continued from there. I was in Grade 11.)

—JMB, GMA News