MANILA, Philippines – Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena missed the podium for the second straight meet as he placed fifth in the Shanghai Diamond League in China on Saturday, May 3.
Coming off a seventh-place finish in the Xiamen Diamond League a week prior, Obiena did better in Shanghai by clearing 5.72 meters but still fell short of a medal.
World record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden reigned anew just like he did in Xiamen, with the two-time Olympic champion vaulting past a meet record of 6.11m.
Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis (6.01m) and the Netherlands’ Menno Vloon (5.82m) got second and third, respectively, as the podium finishers in Xiamen consisted of the same cast in Shanghai.
Karalis, who edged Obiena for the bronze in the Paris Olympics, gave Duplantis a challenge when he hurdled 6.01m on his first try, although the Greek stumbled at 6.11m — a height the Swede took just a single attempt to nail.
Obiena tied with Australia’s Kurtis Marschall at 5.72m but settled for fifth via countback.
The Asian record holder of 6.00m, Obiena has not reached 5.80m since he ruled the ORLEN Copernicus Cup in February. – Rappler.com