Philippines’ EJ Obiena competes in the men’s pole vault final of the athletics event at the Paris Olympics Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 5, 2024. (Photo by Antonin THUILLIER / AFP)
EJ Obiena missed the podium of the men’s pole vault final early Tuesday morning (Manila time) failing to come unglued at 5.95 meters in the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France.
With just four athletes in contention, Obiena missed all three tries at 5.95m, settling for fourth place in the tournament.
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It was still a marked improvement for the 28-year-old Obiena, who finished 11th in Tokyo and was a podium favorite here as the world No. 2 pole vaulter.
But he couldn’t quite get a rhythm for the 5.95, even after making a technical adjustment on his third attempt.
READ: EJ Obiena ‘sorry’ for making Filipinos nervous after slow start
Obiena’s exit left world No. 1 Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, American world No. 3 Sam Kendricks and Greece’s Emmanuoil Karalis in the battle for the gold at posting time.
The Philippines has two gold medals so far in the Paris Olympics courtesy of gymnastics superstar Carlos Yulo, with at least two bronzes coming from boxing.
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