MANILA, August 16 ------ Fresh from his fourth-place finish in the Paris Olympics, Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena fell to No. 3 as World Athletics released its latest rankings. Obiena dropped one place, relinquishing his world No. 2 position to the USA’s Sam Kendricks, who bagged silver in the Olympics. Retaining his Olympic crown, world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden stayed safely perched at No. 1, while bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece climbed from No. 8 to No. 4.
Obiena held the No. 2 spot for nearly a year since he surpassed the USA’s Chris Nilsen for good in September 2023. But Obiena saw a dip in his performance in this outdoor season, revealing he has been bothered by back issues that affected not just his performance but also his Olympic preparations. Out of his first eight competitions this season, Obiena missed the podium four times as he fell short of an Olympic medal.
He and Karalis both cleared 5.90 meters, but the Filipino lost via countback. Obiena, though, has the rest of the season to move up the rankings as he plans to compete in the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League in Switzerland on August 21. “I commit to everyone now, I am back in training, I am back in the game, and I am going to attack the rest of the season and make you proud,” Obiena wrote on Facebook. “You are going to see more from me and see the Philippine flag raised and raised on a global stage.”
Obiena also aims to bring a “world-class” pole vault meet to the country – an event that is sanctioned by World Athletics and will be held at the Ayala Triangle Gardens on September 20.
Source: rappler.com
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