By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
EJ Obiena isn’t done shocking the world of pole vaulting after another podium finish on the international stage.
Fresh off a career-boosting second-place ranking formalization in the male pole vaulting division, Obiena is back competing after nabbing the silver medal in the Herculis Meeting International d’Athletisme last July 22, 2023, held at the Stade Louis II in Monaco.
Obiena capped off his Monaco stint with an impressive score of 5.82 meters which was also enough to edge Kurtis Marshall of Australia who landed bronze via the countback rule.
Christopher Nilsen of the United States bagged the tournament gold medal after leaping over the 5.92-m height.
It was a risky campaign for the Filipino superstar after deciding to skip his last attempt in the 5.92-m when he missed his first two tries.
Instead of going for the 5.92-m to equalize Nilsen, Obiena chose to go for the 6.02-m height but the same as his first two tries in the past height, the Filipino failed and ended up with a final score of 5.82-m.
The world no. 1 male pole vaulter, Armand Duplantis of Sweden, tried to follow Obiena’s strategy to salvage his 5.72-m score but also failed in the 6.02-m.
Despite all the achievements Obiena collected in just seven months, all his focus and attention are still set on the upcoming 2023 Paris Olympics.
Obiena became the first Filipino to clinch a seat at the Paris Olympics after putting up a strong performance during the Bauhaus-Galan meet of the 2023 Wanda Diamond League leg.
