By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
EJ Obiena continued his hot form after winning a silver medal in the Meeting International de Sotteville in Rouen, France on Friday, July 7 (Saturday in Manila).
Obiena, who already punched a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics, cleared 5.72 meters for his sixth straight podium finish since the outdoor season began last month.
Obiena’s runner-up finish will certainly give him the extra zest as he goes for back-to-back championships in the Asian Championship next week.
Australian Kurtis Marschall captured the gold with a personal-best of 5.95m in a performance that also earned for himself a slot in the Paris Olympics after surpassing the qualifying standard of 5.82m.
He joins Obiena, world champion Armand Duplantis and Germany’s Bo Kanda Lita Baehre as early qualifiers.
Hometown bet Baptiste Thiery matched Obiena’s effort, but settled for the bronze medal after the countback rule was applied.
After clearing 5.72m on his first attempt, Obiena tried 5.87m twice but was unsuccessful. He skipped his last attempt at the said height and moved to 5.92m, but also failed.
Obiena’s recent performances were good signs of his readiness to duplicate his gold medal feat in the 2019 edition in Doha, Qatar.
The Asian Championships is scheduled on July 12 to 16 in Pattaya, Thailand where Obiena will join 21 other Filipino athletes that include six-time Southeast Asian Games champion Eric Cray.
Elimination in pole vault is set on July 13, with the finals on July 16.
