UP, UP and AWAY: EJ Obiena soars high en route to clearing the Olympics qualifying bar. (Esquire Philippines photo courtesy)
Pole vault star EJ Obiena has become the first representative from the Philippines to secure a spot in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
As the world’s third-ranked pole vaulter, he successfully qualified for the Summer Games by surpassing the 5.82-meter mark during the Wanda Diamond League’s Bauhaus Galan meet in Stockholm, Sweden.
This event marked the beginning of the Olympic qualifying season for the sport.
Standing at six feet two inches, Obiena required two attempts to meet the entry standard.
Another athlete heading to Paris is Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis, who effortlessly cleared the 5.82-meter mark on his first try. Although Obiena settled for the silver medal, he gave his all in attempting to clear the 5.95-meter mark but unfortunately fell short in all his subsequent tries.
Duplantis, on the other hand, successfully achieved the same height and went even further, reaching 6.05 meters to claim the gold medal. He even requested to raise the bar to 6.23 meters in an ambitious bid for a potential world record but was unable to surpass it.
Out of the participants in the tournament, only these two athletes secured their spots for the Paris Olympics. Norway’s Pål Haugen Lillefosse and Belgium’s Ben Broeders both cleared 5.72 meters but missed out on the qualification. Lillefosse secured the bronze medal through a countback process.
Just last week, Obiena achieved a bronze medal at the Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic. Earlier in June, he set a new Asian record by reaching the impressive 6.0-meter mark during the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway.
Obiena’s upcoming schedule includes the Meeting International de Sotteville in Rouen, France, which is the second Olympic qualifying event, taking place on July 7. Afterward, he will travel to Bangkok, Thailand to participate in the Asian Athletics Championship from July 12 to 16. (Source: Online/ai/mnm)
