OBIENA RAISES BAR, BAGS BRONZE
EJ Obiena’s name is now written among the sport’s biggest, brightest stars.
Delivering a performance to remember, Obiena captured a historic bronze medal while setting a new Asian record in the star-studded men’s pole vault of the World Athletics Championships that came to a close in Eugene, Oregon yesterday. The 26-year-old world No. 6 cleared 5.94 meters on his second attempt that proved enough to seal him the country’s breakthrough podium finish in the biennial meet while eclipsing the Asian mark of 5.93m he himself set in the Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria last year. Obiena, who made it to the final after making the Top 12 with a 5.75m last Saturday, went for another personal best at 6.0m that would have given him the silver. But he failed in three tries. Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and world-record owner Armand Duplantis expectedly topped the event by setting a new world record at 6.21m while Christopher Nilsen of the US snared the silver with a 5.94m after edging Obiena via countback as the American cleared it on his first try. Obiena’s feat will be most remembered by the moment when he stood up side by side with Duplantis and Nilsen during the awarding ceremony as it validated his status as being there among the greats.
The Southeast Asian Games reigning champion could cement his status even further if he could replicate his recent feat in the 2024 Paris Games where he would seek the country’s first Olympic medal since Miguel White bagged the 400m hurdles bronze in the 1936 Berlin Games.
There was a point during the competition though that Obiena gained the upper hand over Duplantis when he cleared 5.87m on his first attempt while the magnificent Swedish faltered on his first try after his hand touched the bar during his descent.
It was a rare occurrence that Obiena momentarily experienced as Duplantis took charge from there and blew him and the field away with fantastic vaults one after another.
The medal though was enough to make the whole country back home happy and proud of this unforgettable moment in history.
“This is for you, thank you for sticking with me for all those tough times,” Obiena told ABS-CBN’s TJ Manotoc an interview.
Obiena’s feat in the world stage came just days after the Commission on Audit (COA) ruled that there was no irregularity in the athlete’s utilization of the P10.3 million financial assistance from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) from 2019 to 2020.
It was a previous allegation that caused an extended impasse between Obiena and the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA).