The pride of Tondo, Manila was a crowd-favorite at the BAUHAUS-Galan meet.
EJ Obiena became the first Filipino athlete to book a slot in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 27-year-old pole vaulter secured his second Olympics ticket after clearing the 5.82-meter mark at the Stockholm Diamond League. Obiena needed two attempts to successfully to reach the entry standard in the Olympic qualifying season opener.
Helping out the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games qualifier make his re-entry to the Olympiad was the crowd present at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium. As Obiena was preparing to make the crucial jump, the audience clapped rhythmically for the world no. 3 pole vaulter, egging him on to complete what ended up as a historic takeoff for the Philippines.
On his Instagram, Obiena showed his appreciation for the overwhelming support he received from the Swedes.
“This must be the closest thing to a home crowd I could get,” EJ wrote on his IG story.
Joining him in Paris is world no. 1 Armand "Mondo" Duplantis, who unsurprisingly surpassed the 5.82-meter barrier in one try. He scaled 6.05 meters to win gold in the event, rendering Obiena to a silver finish.
In Japan, during the 2020 Games, Obiena underwhelmed as he finished 11th in the men’s pole vault event. Not able to get his rhythm, he failed to clear the 5.80-meter bar after three attempts.
Now that he has earned a second shot at giving the Philippines an Olympic medal, sports fans across the country can count on the Filipino Olympian to do everything in his power to put on the best performance of his career come 2024.
(GM)