Obiena rises to World No. 5 in pole vault rankings

MANILA, Philippines, September 5 ------ Filipino pole-vault star EJ Obiena has climbed up to No. 5 in the world rankings after his strong performance in the Meeting de Paris Wanda Diamond League last week. The Tokyo Olympian took the second place finish by clearing 5.91 meters while erasing the national record of 5.87m he himself set in Poland last June that propelled him from No. 6 last month to where he is at present. Olympic champion and world record-holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden remained unperturbed at No. 1 followed by Americans Christopher Nilsen and Sam Kendricks and French Renaud Lavillenie.

Obiena was ahead over some of sport’s notable names including 2016 Rio Games gold medalist and 2021 Tokyo Olympics bronze medal winner Thiago Braz of Brazil, who was at No. 8. Interestingly, Obiena has beaten Nilsen, Kendricks and Lavillenie in the recent Paris tilt. “An ordinary man guided by God’s extraordinary grace,” said Obiena in his Facebook page Thursday. “I may not meet the expectation of all, but I keep trying. Thank you for all the prayers and support. “The journey continues and I am proud to carry the nation,” he added.

For his record-breaking feat, Obiena will be rewarded an incentive worth P250,000 from the Philippine Sports Commission. Obiena resumes his 2024 Paris Games medal quest as he competes in the Allianz Memorial Van Damme Friday in Brussels, Belgium and the final Diamond League edition slated Sept. 8-9 in Zurich, Switzerland.

Source: philstar.com