Thomasian pole vaulter EJ Obiena became the first Filipino athlete to secure a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris after clearing the 5.82-meter qualifying mark in the 2023 BAUHAUS-Galan World Diamond League in Stockholm, Sweden on Sunday, July 2 (Philippine time).
Obiena cleared the qualifying mark on his second attempt, earning the silver medal with 13 qualifying points. He placed second, with only Sweden’s top-ranked pole vaulter, Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, ahead of him with 16 qualifying points.
Obiena, currently ranked as the third-best pole vaulter in the world, cleared heights of 5.62 and 5.72 meters. However, he was unable to surpass the 5.95-meter bar in three attempts.
Duplantis easily surpassed the heights of 5.62, 5.82, 5.95, and 6.05 meters during the competition.
He tried to break the meeting record of 6.16 meters he set in July 2022 and went for the world record-breaking attempt at 6.23 meters but failed in all three attempts.
Norwegian pole vaulter Pål Haugen Lillefosse only cleared 5.72 meters to cop bronze with eight points.
Obiena recently joined the elite six-meter club as its 28th member, the first Asian to do so, after eclipsing his personal best of 5.94 meters in the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway on June 10.
In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Obiena finished in 11th place as he failed to overcome the 5.80-meter bar in all three attempts. He only cleared 5.70 meters.
The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 to Aug. 11, 2024.
