By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipino pole vaulting sensation EJ Obiena is yet to find his groove this season after settling for a 10th-place finish during the 2022 Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais.
Despite a championship-clinching run at the Orlen Cup in Poland last week, Obiena posted his lowest rank and score of the year with 5.61 meters.
From a 5.81-meters height cleared in Poland, Obiena only completed the 5.61-meters height in France and burned three attempts just to jump over the set limit.
Obiena struggled to get past the 5.71-meter mark and had the chance to go further but committed three straight fouls when he constantly hit the bar on his way down.
Before entering France, Obiena kicked off his busy 2022 schedule with a fourth-place finish in Germany at the ISTAF Indoor Berlin competition.
Obiena followed his fourth-place finish in Germany with a trip to Sweden and ended up in eighth place after going up for the 5.70-meter cleared mark.
Eager to bounce back from a disappointing finish in France, Obiena will fly back to Poland and is set to compete in the 2022 Orlen Copernicus Cup on February 22.
This will be Obiena’s fifth tournament in two months since announcing his delay in his 2022 schedule due to a left knee operation.
