Obiena bags silver in world meet
SOARING to a new milestone, Ernest John Obiena matched his Asian record, jumping six meters flat to secure the silver medal early yesterday morning (Sunday night in Europe) in the men’s pole vault finals of the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Center in Budapest, Hungary.
Starting from 5.55 meters, Obiena needed nine jumps to surpass the bronze medal he won when he cleared 5.91 meters in the 2022 edition of the world meet in Eugene, Oregon to remain as the only Filipino to attain a podium finish in the blue-ribbon competition.
His second jump duplicated the height he set in ruling the Bergen Jump Challenge in Bryggen, Norway last June 10, setting a new Asian and national record in the process, and also established himself as a serious medal contender in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
But he was forced to play second fiddle anew to reigning Swedish world and Olympic champion Armand Duplantis, who was in top competitive form and handily retained his crown by clearing 6.10 meters before a banner crowd at the 36,000-capacity arena.
In a battle of 25-year-olds, up-and-coming Australian Kurtis Marschall and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Chris Nilsen of the US both cleared 5.95 meters once to share the bronze medal while Frenchman Thibaut Collet of France set a personal best of 5.90 meters to wind up in fifth place.
Chinese Bokai Huang was the next best Asian in the field of 13 entries, placing sixth with a personal best of 5.75 meters, beating Belgium’s Ben Broeders and American Zach McWhorter, who finished seventh and eighth, respectively, on the countback.
On top of trophies and medals, the top eight finishers in the event also took home cash prizes, with Duplantis netting $70,000 (around P3.96 million) for the gold while Obiena cashed in $35,000 (P1.98 million) for taking runner-up honors. Marschall and Nilsen split the $22,000 (P1.245 million) purse for bronze.
“Did you watch history happen when Philippines (sic) got its first silver medal (and 2nd medal) at the World Athletics Championships?” Obiena posted with pride on his official Facebook account.
“In what part of the world were you watching the WAC men’s pole vault finals? Comment below. Share also your reactions when EJ cleared that 6m bar!” he added.
He, however, has his work cut out for him is if he is going to be a serious threat to the Swedish sensation in the French capital next year.
Also starting at the height of 5.55 meters, Duplantis needed just four jumps to clear the bar at six meters flat before putting the pressure on Obiena, who was next to jump, by routinely clearing the height of 6.05 meters on his initial try.
The Swede pumped his right fist going down then repeated the gesture again as he stood up, sensing the gold was in the bag.
In contrast, Obiena fouled on his first try at the height then decided to go for broke, raising the bar at 6.10 meters, fouling twice, in what eventually became a futile bid to dethrone the defending champion.
With typical panache, Duplantis cleared the same 6.10-meter height on his first jump before attempting to set a new world record, raising the bar at 6.23 meters, one centimeter higher than his current world mark.
Egged on by the lively gallery, he nearly made it on his third try, slightly grazing the bar as he went down then clapped and waved to the appreciate crowd to call it a night.
Obiena will likely take a break and return to his camp in Formia, Italy with Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov to prepare for the Hangzhou Asian Games next month where he will be the hands-down favorite to clinch the mint after finishing seventh with a jump of 5.30 meters in the 2018 Asiad in Jakarta, Indonesia.
