By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
EJ Obiena displayed nerves of steel and avoided elimination after showcasing a clutch performance to enter the grand final round of the ongoing Paris Olympics men’s pole vault event on August 3, 2024.
Already on the brink of losing his Olympic gold medal hopes after failing his first two attempts in the 5.60 meters height, Obiena decided to skip his final run there and shoot for the 5.70 meters.
Despite the pressure, Obiena breezed through the 5.70-m height with ease and automatically put himself back for contention in the Final 12 participants that will advance to the medal rounds of the men’s pole vault.
The 28-year-old PHL representative then put the icing on the cake when he only needed a single attempt to leap over the next height, which was 5.75 meters.
After two successful routines in the 5.70-m and the 5.75-m, Obiena officially placed seventh overall and formalized a spot in the grand final round on August 6, 2024.
Obiena’s pool was supposed to increase the height limit to 5.80 meters, but the men’s pole vault committee decided to halt the contest as the top 12 finalists were already determined after their runs in the 5.75-m.
From the two pools, 10 pole vaulters made it to the top 12 from Obiena’s group while only two made it in the other bracket.
During the first round of the qualification phase, Obiena immediately skipped the first height, 5.40 meters, and decided to start at 5.60-m with world no. 1 ranked men’s pole vaulter Armand Duplantis of Sweden.
However, Obiena had a rough start in his first two runs at the 5.60-m, hitting the bar on the way down and was pushed to a difficult situation with only a single attempt remaining to prevent elimination.
Obiena then delivered when it mattered the most as he wrapped up the qualification phase with two great runs at 5.70-m and the 5.75-m heights.
