AFTER a dismal outing a week ago, Ernest John Obiena bounced back strong early yesterday morning (Sunday night in Europe), bucking the challenge of Polish Piotr Lisek with a season-best jump of 5.80 meters to rule the men’s pole vault event of the Orlen Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland.
With his trademark economical efficiency, Obiena secured his second indoor season gold with just five jumps but failed to clear 5.85 meters, which could have booked his ticket to the World Indoor Championships set to open March 21 in Nanjing, China.
But it was still a dramatic improvement from his 5.55-meter jump, which left him in the cellar of the ISTAF Dusseldorf track meet in Dusseldorf, Germany, last Feb. 10.
Lisek also set a season-best in taking runner-up honors with a jump of 5.70 meters, relegating Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen, who also cleared the same height, to the bronze on the countback.
Despite the victory, Obiena, who holds the Asian record of six meters flat, was unhappy not to meet the qualifying height with barely a month left before the world indoor meet in the city regarded as one of the four great capitals of ancient China.
“The jumping conditions were good. I had a long run-up but it wasn’t a big problem for me. However, I am not satisfied with the result. I needed to jump 5.85 to qualify for the world indoor championships,” he explained in an interview posted on the meet’s website.
“For us Asians, the indoor qualification window is shorter because we don’t have national indoor championships. I’m not sure if I’ll have another chance before the end of the qualifying period,” added the athlete, who did not disclose where he would compete next, with a hint of concern about the cut-off date of March 9.
Based on the World Athletics qualifying process for the world indoors, a total of 12 slots are available for the event.
Eight pole vaulters, bannered by Olympic double gold medalist Mondo Duplantis, have sealed berths in the Nanjing games by either matching or surpassing the world indoor qualifying mark.
Guttormsen is ranked No. 8 after meeting the qualifying standard while Obiena is still out of the Magic 12 circle at No. 15, and needs to pick his next competitions wisely in the remaining weeks to nail his slot in Nanjing.
The lean and lanky Pinoy pole vaulter finished ninth with a jump of 5.65 meters in the 2024 edition of the world meet in Glasgow, Scotland.
