Thomasian pole vaulter EJ Obiena posted a season-best clearance of 5.81 meters but narrowly missed a podium finish at the Fly Athens Street Pole Vault on Monday, July 6, in Athens, Greece.
Obiena placed fourth after ending in a five-way tie for third alongside Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, the Netherlands’ Menno Vloon, Türkiye’s Ersu Sasma and France’s Baptiste Thiery.
Karalis secured the bronze medal through the countback rule.
American Chris Nilsen captured the gold medal after prevailing over France’s Thibaut Collet, who settled for silver despite also clearing 5.91 meters.
The 5.81-meter clearance marked Obiena’s best performance of the season, eclipsing his previous season-high of 5.78 meters recorded at the ISTAF Indoor Berlin in March.
It also surpassed his previous outdoor-season best of 5.75 meters, which he achieved while winning the Raiffeisen Austrian Open in Eisenstadt earlier this month.
Obiena entered the Athens competition fresh from consecutive outdoor gold-medal performances.
He first topped the Czesław Cybulski Memorial in Poznań, Poland, before setting a meet record with a 5.75-meter clearance to win the Raiffeisen Austrian Open in Eisenstadt, Austria.
