By REYNALD MAGALLON
EJ Obiena failed to land on the podium and settled for the fifth place in the Wanda Diamond League in Keqiao, China, Saturday, May 3.
The world No.4 pole vaulter only cleared 5.72 meters in tie with Australia’s Kurtis Marshall, US’s Sam Kendricks and Belgium’s Ben Broeders at the fourth spot but slid down to No.5 via countback after needing two tries to clear the bar.
Obiena actually had the chance to remain in contention but failed in all of his three attempts at 5.82 meters.
Mondo Duplantis, as usual, was head and shoulders above his peers after soaring above the bar at 6.11m while Emmanouil Karalis finished second after clearing 6.01m.
Netherland’s Menno Vloon plucked the third after clearing 5.82m before failing in all of his three attempts at 5.92m.
While Obiena failed to land in his second appearance this season in the Diamond League, it was still an improvement in his performance after only clearing 5.62m in the first leg in Xiamen, China last Sunday.
In that event, it was also the same trio in Duplantis, Karalis and Vloon that made the podium.
After his stint in the Diamond League, Obiena is expected to return to the country for the PATAFA Pole Vault Challenge which he helped organize at the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub Track Oval in Cavite on Tuesday, May 6.
