By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Pole vaulter EJ Obiena settled only a silver medal this time but bolstered his Olympic bid with another record-breaking performance Wednesday (early Thursday in Manila) in the Irena Szewinska Memorial-Bydgoszcz Cup in Poland.
Showing his readiness to the Tokyo Olympics, Obiena cleared 5.87 meters on his second attempt on his way to resetting his own outdoor mark of 5.85m established at the Jump & Fly meet in Mossingen, Germany last June 12.
The world No. 10 tried to hurdle the 5.92m barrier but failed.
American champion Chris Nilsen, who is also seeing action in the Olympics, ruled the event in 5.92m while fellow Olympic-bound Piotr Lisek of Poland came in third with 5.82m.
The tournament drew 10 athletes that included reigning Olympic champion Thiago Braz of Brazil, who settled for fourth with a season-best 5.82m, and former world champion Pawel Wojciechowski of Poland, who came in eighth (5.50m).
Obiena is expected to make his last stop at the Bauhaus-Galan in Stockholm, Sweden that is part of the Wanda Diamond League meeting.
