MANILA, Philippines – EJ Obiena has outdone himself once again.

Obiena reset the Philippines’ highest finish in the World Athletics Championships after capturing the silver in the men’s pole vault final in Budapest, Hungary on Saturday, August 26 (Sunday, August 27, Manila time).

Clearing his Asian record of 6.0 meters for the second time in a tournament, the Filipino star eclipsed his historic bronze – the Philippines’ first-ever medal in the world championships – last year in Eugene, United States.

World record holder and reigning Olympic champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden defended his world title with hardly any surprise as he soared past 6.10m.

Duplantis and Obiena were the last two pole vaulters standing after joint bronze medalists Chris Nilsen of the United States and Kurtis Marschall of Australia failed to surpass the six-meter bar, both posting 5.95m clearances.

After needing two tries to hurdle 6.0m, Obiena registered a foul at 6.05m before he decided to skip the height altogether to challenge Duplantis at 6.10m.

Obiena, though, exhausted his last two fouls at 6.10m, allowing Duplantis to come away with the gold as the Swede cleared the height in a single attempt.

Duplantis tried to break his world record of 6.22m by going for 6.23m but to no avail.

With another podium finish, Obiena further raised hopes of winning a medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics as he has consistently beaten Nilsen, the silver medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Games and in the world championships last year.

Obiena also extended his medal streak, securing a podium finish in all the 11 meets he took part in for the current outdoor season. – Rappler.com