By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena bounced back from a disappointing Tokyo Olympics outing and redeemed himself in Paris after wrapping up this year’s edition of the Global Summer Games with a fourth-place finish.
After failing to meet the expectations of the Filipinos four years ago when he only bagged 11th place in Tokyo, Obiena this time made sure that he will enter the grand final round with a favorable result and copped fourth place out of the Top 12 finalists on August 6, 2024, at the Stade de France.
It was so close, yet so far for the Filipino after falling short of a podium finish when he was edged by Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis via countback.
Both pole vaulters managed to leap past the 5.90 meters height but the representative from Greece won the bronze medal when he had a perfect run in the first five heights compared to Obiena who committed a foul in the 5.80 meters.
It was the perfect start that Obiena was hoping for after only needing a single attempt to cruise past the 5.50-m and the 5.70-m heights.
However, Obiena’s perfect streak ended when he committed a foul at the next height, the 5.80-m, and decided to take a risk when he skipped all of his attempts and moved to the 5.85-m.
Just like his run during the qualification phase, that move paid off dividends as he successfully leaped over the 5.85-m height with just a single attempt.
Obiena’s hopes of a medal finish were then further boosted after completing the 5.90-m height with just a single try, shifting his focus to the 5.95-m.
Unfortunately, Obiena failed to cruise past the height, committing three straight fouls that prevented him from a sure silver or gold when Armando Duplantis and Sam Kendricks achieved their mission.
In the end, it was the world no.1 Duplantis who reigned in the competition, doing it in style after breaking the 6.03-m record set by Brazil’s Thiago Braz during the 2016 Olympic Games.
Duplantis not only broke Braz’s record but he also set a new one when he completed his run in the 6.25-m height.
Despite falling short of a podium finish, Obiena vowed to bounce back strong and thank his supporters in a lengthy heartfelt message posted on his official Facebook account.
“I learned a long time ago to take one day at a time, and that’s exactly what I am going to do. Thank you again for your support and standing by me. I am sorry I didn’t join him on the podium but I will be back. “The good get up” as they say. I have been knocked down. But I will get back up,” posted Obiena.
We are still proud of you, EJ! Go get that gold once again! The journey never stops!
