After failing to land a medal in the just-concluded Tokyo Olympics, Filipino pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena regained himself after winning his game over the weekend.
Obiena showed a stellar performance after shattering the Philippine pole vault record by finishing second in the men’s pole vault competitions of the Meeting De Paris, a part of the Wanda Diamond League 2021.
To recall, the previous record was 5.87 meter, set by Obiena in June at the World Athletics Continental Tour in Poland in preparation for the Tokyo Games. However, he cleared 5.91 meters to finish second behind Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Armand Duplantis, who cleared 6.01 meters.
The 6-foot-2 pole vaulter was competing for the championship with Duplantis but eliminated after two attempts at 5.96 and one at 6.01, both of which he failed to clear.
Obiena, the University of Santo Tomas sentinel, also ranked fifth last week in Lausanne, Switzerland, with 5.52 meters. At 25, he passed the 5.45-meter clearance on his second attempt. He also needed three attempts to clear the 5.81 meters.
As the competition progressed, Obiena got some rhythm to clear 5.91 meters on the first try before faltering in the final two attempts to settle for a silver medal.
Meanwhile, the Swedish-American Duplantis was just too good for anyone in the men’s pole vault competition, setting a new meet record of 6.01 meters. He occupied the fourth spot in Lausanne last week, edged Obiena when he cleared the 5.96 meters in his first try, while the latter struggled in two attempts before passing up.IMT
