World No. 3 Obiena plucks bronze in Polish meet

Olympian pole vaulter EJ Obiena returned to European action Tuesday, June 6 (Wednesday in Manila), and bagged the bronze medal in the 5th Irena Szewinska Memorial tournament in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The world No. 3 standout cleared 5.72 meters on his first attempt for the podium finish, settling behind Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Chris Nilsen of the United States and hometown bet Piotr Lisek. Nilsen opened his outdoor season on a bright note with a golden performance of 5.92m, while Lisek, a 2017 world championship silver medalist, clinched the silver with 5.82m.

Obiena aimed at making 5.82m but was unsuccessful.

He actually finished on a threeway tie with two-time world champion Sam Kendricks of the United States and American Jacob Wooten with identical 5.72m marks, but won via countback.

This was Obiena’s first tournament since winning the gold medal in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia last month where he broke his Games record three times under rainy conditions at 5.65m.

Obiena is gearing up for another shot at the Olympics when qualifications for the 2024 Paris Games starts on July 1 until June 30 next year. The Olympic qualifying standard for men’s pole vault is 5.82m.

The 27-year-old Tondo native aims just that as he guns to improve his 11th place finish in the Tokyo Olympics.

He currently holds the national and Asian record of 5.94m when he clinched the historic bronze medal in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon in 2022.