Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 27) — Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena replicated a 6-meter clearance to bag the silver medal at the World Athletics Championships 2023 on Sunday (Manila time).
He was behind Armand Duplantis of Sweden, who soared to 6.10m to get the gold in Budapest, Hungary.
Australia’s Kurtis Marschall and USA’s Christopher Nilsen, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medalist, shared the third spot as they failed to get over 6m and settled at the 5.95 mark.
Obiena had to jump twice to clear the 6-meter bar, unlike world record-holder Duplantis who hurdled 6, 6.05, and 6.10 without a foul.
The 27-year-old Filipino sensation could not clear 6.05m on his first try. He exhausted his remaining two attempts for the 6.10 mark but was unsuccessful.
Duplantis also sought to set a new outdoor record with 6.23m, or a centimeter higher than his current best, but to no avail.
Obiena won bronze in the 2022 edition of the world championships held in Eugene, Oregon, USA when he surpassed 5.94 meters and shattered Asian, national, and personal records. This was the country’s first medal in the competition.
On June 11 this year, he reset those records after clearing 6 meters to clinch gold at the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway.
The Olympian from Tondo, Manila, is already qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
