EJ OBIENA narrowly missed a podium finish in the 2024 Paris Olympics, taking fourth spot in the men’s pole vault final at the Stade de France in a painful result for millions of Filipinos who had high hopes of him winning a medal.
Obiena failed to clear the bar at 5.95 meters in all three of his attempts to dash the world No. 2 pole vaulter’s chance of bringing home the country's first Olympic medal in athletics in 88 years.
The fourth-place finish was a marked improvement from Tokyo where he placed 11th, but it was still an unfortunate result for the man groomed to be the next medalist for the Philippines following Carlos Yulo’s two-gold haul in gymnastics over the weekend.
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Emmanouil Karalis of Greece took the bronze medal after a strategic but risky move of passing 5.95 meters after one attempt, which later paid off when Obiena failed in all three attempts at the same height.
Had Obiena cleared the bar, the Filipino pole vaulter would have moved up to No. 3, putting the pressure on Karalis to clear 6.00 in only two attempts which he eventually failed to do.
Obiena also fouled in his first attempt at 5.80 meters that, in the end, proved to be costly as well in the event which superstar Armand Duplantis ruled with a new world-record clearance of 6.25 meters.
The 28-year-old Obiena had a shaky start to the competition when he fouled in two attempts at 5.60 only to bounce back and clear 5.70.
Even prior to the Olympics, concerning news revealed that Obiena was dealing with “physical problems” over the past few months ahead of Paris, causing a disruption in his training.
The Philippines will now have to wait longer for a first Olympic medal in athletics since Miguel White captured the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles back in 1936.
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