Athletics

EJ Obiena shatters PH record, clinches silver in Paris Diamond League

Delfin Dioquino

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EJ Obiena shatters PH record, clinches silver in Paris Diamond League

REDEMPTION. EJ Obiena bounces back from his dismal performance in the Tokyo Olympics with a silver medal in the Paris Diamond League.

Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Upset by his 11th-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics, EJ Obiena proves he still has more to show by setting a new personal and national record in pole vault

Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena reached new heights as he set a fresh personal and national record to snag a silver medal in the Paris Diamond League on Saturday, August 28.

Obiena shattered the previous mark of 5.87m, which he achieved in Poland in June, after clearing 5.91m to finish just behind world record holder and newly crowned Olympic champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden.

Duplantis, whose world record stands at 6.18m, tallied 6.01m in Paris to clinch the gold medal.

Upset by his 11th-place finish in the recent Tokyo Olympics where he leapt 5.70m, Obiena proved he still has more to show by clearing 5.91m in just a single attempt.

Obiena committed two fouls on 5.96m and failed to surpass 6.01m on his last remaining attempt, paving the way for Duplantis to bag the gold.

It was a brilliant performance for Obiena as he edged Americans Christopher Nilsen, the silver medalist in Tokyo, and Sam Kendricks, the bronze winner in the Rio de Janeiro Games.

Nilsen recorded 5.81m, while Kendricks – who missed the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for the coronavirus – posted 5.73m. – Rappler.com

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.