EJ Obiena finishes 7th in Stockholm

EJ Obiena AFP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Olympic-bound EJ Obiena fell short of reaching the podium again after finishing seventh out of eight competitors in the 2024 Diamond League in the Bauhaus-Galan tournament in Stockholm, Sweden.

Obiena cleared the 5.70 bar after two tries but was eliminated as he exhausted all his attempts in the 5.85 meters.

The Filipino pole vault champion secured his ticket last year after a silver finish in the previous Diamond League.

The world No.1 Mondo Duplantis showed mastery in his craft after crossing the 6.00m, while Sam Kendricks, and KC Lightfoot copped the silver and bronze finish, clearing the 5.90m and 5.80m, respectively.

It was a tough run for Obiena as he previously broke one of his poles and registered his lowest clearance with 5.52m in the Ostrava Golden Spike.

Obiena had a redemption in the Oslo Bislett Games last Friday, May 31, with a second-place finish, but he failed to keep this momentum after missing out the podium in the 2024 Diamond League.