MANILA, Philippines – Asia's best EJ Obiena missed the podium of the men's pole vault after he failed to clear 5.95 meters early Tuesday (Manila time) in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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| Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena falls short of a medal finish in Paris Olympics. Photo courtesy: One Sports |
Obiena is so close to ending Philippines’ 88-year Olympic medal drought in athletics. He placed fourth in the men’s pole vault final ruled by Armand Duplantis of Sweden.
Obiena lost the bronze to Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis. They both cleared 5.90 meters, but the Greek won via countback after nailing each of the first five heights in a single attempt, while the Filipino committed a foul at 5.80 meters.
Still, it was a marked improvement for the Filipino pole vaulter, who ranked 11th in Tokyo 2020.
Meanwhile, Duplantis secured his second straight gold medal after leapfrogging the 6.0-meter mark. The 24-year-old champion also broke the previous Olympic record set by Brazil’s Thiago Braz in Rio of 6.03 meters, easily clearing 6.10 meters on his first try.
Duplantis then broke his personal record, breaking 6.25 meters on his final attempt. The previous record was 6.24 he registered earlier this year. 6.25 meters now also stand as the new Olympic record.
USA’s Sam Kendricks won the silver with 5.95 meters. This was his redemption after missing the Tokyo Games due to a positive coronavirus test.
The Philippines remains stuck at two medals in athletics in its Olympics history. Miguel White won the bronze in the 400-meter low hurdles in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and Simeon Toribio grabbed the bronze in the high jump in the 1932 Games in Los Angeles.
— The Summit Express
