Ernest John “EJ” Obiena of the Philippines placed fourth in the men’s pole vault final at the Paris Olympics, which took place at the Stade de France early on Tuesday, August 6 (Manila time), just missing the podium.
A strong candidate for the Philippines, Obiena holds the Asian record with a 6.0-meter clearance. He cleared 5.90 meters but fell short of the 5.95-meter mark, finishing fourth in the 12-man final.
Obiena demonstrated excellent form even though he did not win a medal by successfully clearing every height except the 5.80-meter barrier, which he skipped after just one attempt. Then, on his first tries, he jumped over 5.85 and 5.90 meters successfully.
Obiena, who is 28 years old and now holds the second-best world rating in the men’s pole vault, performed admirably in Paris, improving upon his 11th-place result from the Tokyo Olympics.
World No. 3 Sam Kendricks of the United States, the bronze medallist from the 2016 Rio Olympics, won the silver medal in the same event with a 5.95-meter clearance. Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, the top-ranked athlete in the world, successfully defended his title and broke both the Olympic and world records with a 6.25-meter clearance on his third try, besting his previous best of 6.24 meters.
