POLE vaulter Ernest John Obiena’s bid to sustain his winning run ended Sunday night when he finished second to Dutchman Menno Vloon at the ISTAF Berlin meet at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany.
Tipped as the favorite entering the event, Obiena cleared 5.81 meters and played second fiddle to Vloon, a fellow Tokyo Olympic Games veteran, who established a season best and national record of 5.88 meters in clinching the gold.
Australian Kurtis Marschall also cleared 5.81 meters, his season best, for the bronze on the countback.
Obiena tried anew to reset his Asian record of 5.94 meters, which he accomplished at the world meet in Eugene, Oregon last July, but missed on all three tries at 5.95 meters.
Obiena’s fifth straight podium finish came after he pulled off a stunning win in the Allianz Van Damme Memorial in Brussels, Belgium four days ago at the expense of Swedish top favorite Armand Duplantis, winning his first Wanda Diamond League meet with a jump of 5.91 meters.
The reigning world and Olympic champion, Duplantis took runner-up honors by clearing 5.81 meters, a mediocre jump considering his lofty standards.
The Swedish sensation holds the world record of 6.21 meters set in the world meet three months ago.
“Silver here in Berlin with 5.81 meters. A few more competition(s) before we call it a season. Let’s keep pushin and keep fighting,” Obiena posed on his official Facebook page shortly after his latest stint.
His next competition will be the Golden Fly event in Liechtenstein, Germany on Sept. 11.
