EJ Obiena clears 5.81m to finish 6th in Lausanne

August 24 ------ Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena settled for sixth place in the pole vault event of the Wanda Diamond League in Lausanne, Switzerland clearing 5.81 meters on his second attempt.

Obiena attempted to push higher at 5.91 meters but failed all three tries. The competition was headlined by Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis, who cleared a historic 6.21 meters to win, breaking his own meeting record of 6.15 meters.

Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis pushed Duplantis with a 6.16-meter clearance, the second-best mark of his career and now second on the world all-time list behind Duplantis. "I'm tired but I feel really good, I feel really happy," said Duplantis. "That was such an amazing competition, everybody jumped so well, so I felt like I really had to step it up. I'm glad I jumped really well."

After a final failed attempt by Karalis at 6.26m, Duplantis initially seemed to turn down the chance of improving his own world record for the 16th time before changing his mind. It currently stands at 6.31m but his two attempts at 6.32m both ended in failure. "That's competition, that's what we live for," said Duplantis. "I love to compete, I love competing against Manolo, especially when he is on his A-game like this. "I just like to jump high. That's what I feel like I was made to do."

Karalis, who stayed to cheer on his rival's attempts to break the world record, said he felt "blessed, and very proud, to represent this incredible era" of pole vaulting. After winning the European silver, when he jumped 6.00m, the 26-year-old Greek said he was already dreaming of clearing 6.20m "and maybe more". "We'll be competing in Silesia in a few days, so yes, I need to recover," he said. "I love Silesia, it's where I cleared my first six-meter bar so I hope I can jump even higher."

Australian Kurtis Marschall completed the podium. His jump of 5.91m put him alongside Norway's Sondre Guttormsen and towering American Christopher Nilsen but with fewer fails in the competition, he took third spot. Obiena will look to bounce back in his next outing as he continues chasing a return to his best form this season with the Asian Games in his calendar.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com