IN his last outing before the Hangzhou Asian Games, Ernest John Obiena jumped 5.82 meters early yesterday morning (Sunday in the US) to place second behind sensational record-breaking Swede Armand Duplantis in the Prefontaine Classic, the Wanda Diamond League finale, in Eugene, Oregon.
Before a banner crowd at the Howard Field, site of the 2022 edition of the World Athletics Championships, and featuring an all-star cast, Obiena played bridesmaid anew to Duplantis, who set a new world record of 6.23 meters in breathtaking fashion in his first try.
The irrepressible Swede surpassed his earlier standard of 6.22 centimeters set at the All-Star Perche indoor meeting last Feb. 25 in Clermont-Ferrand, France, further bolstering his status as the man to beat in the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.
It marked the 61st time the Swedish ace jumped six meters or better.
Displaying his continued resurgence, two-time world champion Sam Kendricks of the US took the bronze medal, clearing 5.72 meters in his first jump, beating Australia’s Kurtis Marschall and compatriot Chris Nilsen, who placed fourth and fifth, respectively, on the countback.
His runner-up finish was just the morale boost that Obiena needs as he heads straight for his second Asian Games outing in Hangzhou, China where he is the top pick and hopes to break the country’s 27-year-old dry spell in the continental sports showcase.
Former back-to-back Asian Games sprint queen Lydia de Vega was the last Filipino athlete to win the mint in the 1986 Seoul Asiad in a blistering duel with India’s legendary P.T. Usha.
Athletics chief Terry Capistrano said Obiena, who pocketed the runner-up purse of $12,000 (around P681,498), would go straight to Hangzhou after his stint in the US to adjust to the cool climate there.
He is expected to arrive in the Chinese port city located 1,279 kilometers southeast of the Chinese capital of Beijing today, 11 days before he competes in the men’s pole vault finals on Sept. 30 at the huge 80,000-seat Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium.
Boasting an Asian and Philippine record of six meters flat, Obiena is the hands-down choice to clinch his first gold in the Asian sportsfest after placing seventh with a jump of 5.30 meters in the 2018 edition in Jakarta, Indonesia.
He is the most prominent member of the 25-member track and field contingent that also includes a cluster of Filipino-Americans — Asian women’s 400-meter hurdles champion Robyn Lauren Brown, Eric Shawn Cray, Kristina Knott and Willie Morrison III.
