ERNEST John Obiena started the second part of his outdoor campaign on a hot note yesterday (Tuesday night in Europe), jumping 5.81 meters to rule the 26th Internationales Stabhochsprung meet in Jockgrim, Germany and book a ticket to next year’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Obiena, who began his jump at 5.61 meters, clinched the gold medal in just three tries, clearing the winning height in one attempt to best an elite field that included American Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Chris Nielsen, who settled for the silver after clearing 5.71 meters.
He tried to reset his Asian and national record of 5.94 meters, set when he bagged the bronze medal in the World Championships at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon last July, but failed on all three tries at 5.95 meters.
A silver medalist in the World meet, Nilsen beat Australian Kurtis Marshal and German veteran Bo Kanda Lita Baehre, who also cleared 5.71 meters, via the countback.
“Great part for the second part of the season. We got the World bronze and then got the standard for next year’s World Champs in Hungary,” Obiena posted on his official Facebook page shortly after his feat in the first of seven events where he intends to compete for the rest of 2022.
As an icing on the cake, the Pinoy pole vaulter met the qualifying standard of 5.81 meters to seal his return to the World meet scheduled Aug. 19 to 27, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary.
He bared that the meet held in the quaint brick-making town located on the left side of the Rhine River was “one of my first European meets back in 2016. I jumped in the B-meet with 5.30 (meters). Thank you (meet organizer) @hellmangunther for having me back in 2016 and present.”
Obiena’s latest triumph was an ideal tune-up before he sees action Saturday (early Sunday morning in Manila) in the Athletissima, the 11th leg of the Wanda Diamond League, at the Stade del Olympique dela Pontaise in Lausanne, Switzerland.
He will be pitted against a blue-ribbon cast led by reigning Tokyo Olympics and world men’s pole vault champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden, veteran Frenchman Renauld Lavillenie, the 2012 London Games gold medalist, and Nielsen, among others.
Duplantis, who set a new world record of 6.21 meters at the worlds in Eugene, Oregon, is aiming to stretch his perfect winning run to five in his pet event where he has soared over six meters in four of his last five competitions.