Obiena on a roll again, picks up bronze in Brussels

MANILA, Philippines – Pole vaulter EJ Obiena claimed another podium finish after ending up third in the Brussels Diamond League in Belgium on Friday, September 8 (Saturday, September 9, Manila time).

Obiena, the world’s second-ranked men’s pole vaulter, finished at 5.92 meters, the same height as the United States’ Sam Kendricks.

However, Kendricks breezed through the clearance in one attempt to claim the silver, while Obiena hit it in his third and final attempt. Both Kendricks and Obiena failed to clear the 6.02 mark.

Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, the sport’s greatest force today, cleared 6.10 meters to set a meet record and cop the gold medal.

“Happy with the consistency but definitely lots of things to work on,” Obiena said on his Instagram post after the meet.

“A few more days in Europe before we head to Eugene (Oregon, USA) for the Diamond League Final,” he said of the tournament set from September 16-17.

It the same height Obiena cleared in Aachen, Germany, which netted him the gold in the NetAachen Domspringen competition last September 7.

The Filipino nosed out American Sam Kendricks (5.87m) and French Thibaut Collet (5.82m) during that face-off.

Obiena also won a gold medal last September 3 by clearing the same 5.92 meters in the Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) competition at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

Before that pair of golds, Obiena had a surprise hiccup last August 31 as he missed the podium for the first time in the outdoor season, finishing last out of the 10 pole vaulters in the Zurich leg of the Diamond League.

That loss snapped his streak of 10 straight podium finishes.

– Rappler.com