EJ OBIENA admitted that, just like most of the Filipinos glued to its TV or streaming platform, he too got nervous during his men’s pole vault qualification on Saturday in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In a shocking turn of the events, Obiena’s medal hopes all of a sudden hinged on one jump early in the qualification round when he failed to clear 5.60 meters.
Another failure would mean the world No. 2 would be out of contention for a final seat.
But Obiena turned the corner, even raising the bar at 5.70 for his final attempt at that height which he cleared to continue on with his campaign.
Obiena eventually cleared the bar again at 5.75 to book a place in the final to be held on August 5, 7 p.m. Paris time (August 6, 1 a.m. Manila time).
“Sorry po sa mga napakaba ko kanina. Ako rin po kinabahan ng todo ng di ko maintindihan,” wrote Obiena on his Instagram account. “Thank you for everyone who stick thru the emotional rollercoaster.
Obiena will test his wares against 11 pole vaulters led by world-record holder and Olympic champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden, who only needed two attempts to reach the 5.75-mark.
In the final as well are Sondre Guttormsen of Norway, Emmanouil Karalis of Greece, Ersu Sasma of Turkey, and Oleg Zernikel of Germany, Sam Kendricks of United States, Bokai Huang of China, Bo Kanda Lita Baehere of Germany, Valters Kreiss of Latvia, and Kurtis Marschall of Australia.
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