By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Pole vault ace EJ Obiena returned to European action Tuesday, June 6 (Wednesday in Manila) and made quite a noise by bagging the bronze medal in the 5th Irena Szewinska Memorial tournament in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
The world No. 3 standout cleared 5.72 meters on his first attempt which proved good enough for a podium finish in the event won by Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Chris Nilsen of the United States with hometown bet Piotr Lisek finishing second.
Nilsen sailed over the bar set 5.92m, while Lisek, a 2017 world championship silver medalist, cleared 5.82m.
Obiena did try to leap over the 5.82m but was unsuccessful.
Obiena actually finished tied with two-time world champion Sam Kendricks of the United States and American Jacob Wooten, but he took the bronze via countback.
Nilsen, for his part, attempted to eclipse his personal best of 6.00m by trying 6.02m, but also failed.
This was Obiena’s first tournament since winning the gold medal in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia last month where he broke his Games record three times under rainy conditions at 5.65m.
Up next for Obiena is the Sparebanken Vest Bergen Jump Challenge on June 10 in Norway.
Obiena is gearing up for another shot at the Olympics when qualifications for the 2024 Paris Games starts on July 1 until June 30 next year. The Olympic qualifying standard for men’s pole vault is 5.82m.
The 27-year-old Tondo native is aching to improve on his 11th place finish in the Tokyo Olympics.
He currently holds the national and Asian record of 5.94m which he registered in winning the bronze medal in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon in 2022.
