POLE vaulter Ernest John Obiena tries to become the country’s first podium finisher today in the 18th World Athletics Championships after qualifying for the finals with a jump of 5.75 meters last Saturday at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Ranked No. 6 in the world, Obiena made the qualifying mark on his second try for a tie at sixth with Turkish Ersu Sasma among the 12 qualifiers led by Swede top favorite and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Armand Duplantis, American defending champion Sam Kendricks, and German Oleg Zernikel.
While all finalists jumped 5.75 meters, Duplantis, Kendricks and Zernikel nailed the height on their first tries to top the qualifying round.
Brazilian Rio Olympic men’s pole vault champion Tiago Braz and Belgian Ben Broeders were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the countback while 2012 London Games champion Renaud Lavillenie of France finished eighth.
Dutch Menno Vloon, German Bo Kanda Lita Baehre and Norwegians Pat Lilleflose and Sundro Guttormsen, who all cleared 5.75 meters on their third and last tries, finished tied for ninth place, completing the cast in the finals set to start at 5:05 a.m. Sunday (8:05 p.m. today in Manila).
Obiena said being the first Filipino track and field athlete to compete in the finals of the prestigious world meet is already a personal triumph in itself.
“Well for me, being here in Eugene, set to compete in the final of World Championships is already a big win,” Obiena posted on his Facebook page shortly after qualifying for the finals.
“After all of the things that have happened; from missing my supposed to be first World Indoor Championship earlier this year; to contracting COVID a few weeks back, we are here,” he said.
“I started this journey with my family and now I have a team that I could only have dreamed of and a strong nation behind me. Maraming Salamat po,” he added. “For now, we focus on the finals, and as Kobe Bryant once said: ‘Job’s not finished.’”
