EJ Obiena nabs bronze medal in Poland tiff

MANILA, Philippines, February 19 ------ Tokyo-bound pole vaulter EJ Obiena pulled off another podium finish this year after he clinched the bronze medal in the 2021 Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time). This is Obiena's fourth podium finish in 2021 after the athlete won two gold medals in Berlin and a silver last week in the Orlen Cup.

Obiena bucked a rough start in the Copernicus Cup where he took three attempts to clear the 5.40 m clearance. He then hurdled the 5.60 meter clearance and the 5.72 meter mark in one and two attempts, respectively. Obiena had a chance to claim the gold as he engaged in a tight battle with two-time world champion Sam Kendricks and hometown bet Piotr Lisek in the final 5.87 meter jump. However, all three pole vaulters failed to clear the height.

Kendricks took the gold after clearing the 5.80 meter mark in one try, while Obiena and Lisek took three attempts. Obiena fell to third place against Lisek since he only needed one attempt to clear the 5.72 meter clearance while Obiena needed two. This bronze medal finish breaks a streak of Obiena breaking his personal best and Philippine indoor pole vault records. In the Orlen Cup last week, Obiena tallied his new personal best and national record at 5.86 meters where he clinched the silver medal.

Source: philstar.com