ENDING HIS Olympic campaign after an impressive performance, Filipino Pole Vaulter EJ Obiena ranked 11th in the Men’s Pole Vault finals last August 3 at the Olympic Stadium. The world No.6 pole vaulter fell short of a bronze medal finish as he was unable to clear a height of 5.80m after three attempts.

Starting strong in the competition’s opening height of 5.55m, Obiena flew above the bar on his first attempt. However, the Filipino Olympian encountered difficulties once the bar was raised to 5.70m upon receiving his first two fouls. Obiena’s first attempt was unmerited as he retracted his jump midway through his clearance, and he failed his second attempt due to overshooting himself over the bar. Refusing to be eliminated early in the competition, Obiena clutched his final attempt at 5.70m with a clean clearance.

Despite his momentum entering the 5.80m round, Obiena fell off as he was unable to clear the bar. The Filipino Olympian managed to achieve an impressive vertical on his first two attempts, but his knee and chest hit the bar on his descent—resulting in an unsuccessful clearance.

In his high stakes final attempt at 5.80m, Obiena faltered midway through his run-up due to miscalculations in his jump but did not acquire a foul as he still had time on the clock. However, complications occurred when the officials began moving the bar while Obiena’s timer was running—preventing him from properly executing a final attempt. Obiena then protested against the officials for giving him a foul and was granted a final attempt at 5.80m.

Granted a final attempt to qualify to the next round, Obiena failed to clear 5.80m due to his foot hitting the bar on his way up—ending his Olympic stint at a humble 11th place. Taking the top spots were Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis in first place with a 6.02m clearance, the United States of America’s Chris Nilsen in second place at 5.97m, and Brazil’s Thiago Braz in third place at 5.87m.