ERNEST John Obiena needed only two jumps last Tuesday night to advance to the finals of the men’s pole vault event of the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Center in Budapest, Hungary.
After clearing 5.55 meters, Obiena skipped the bar at 5.70 meters before calling it a day after clearing 5.75 meters to join 11 other qualifiers led by reigning Olympic and world defending champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden into the finals tomorrow at 7:25 p.m. (1:25 a.m. Sunday in Manila).
Competing in Group A, Obiena finished in a four-way tie for first with Duplantis, American Chris Nilsen and Australian Kurtis Marschall, who all completed their jumps on their first try.
“It was extremely warm, but we made it to the finals,” Obiena said on his official Facebook account of the sweltering conditions at the 36,000-capacity arena.
Now a member of the elite six-meter club, he is bidding to surpass the bronze medal he won in last year’s meet in Eugene, Oregon where he cleared 5.91 meters.
