November 29, 2024

World Athletic Championships silver medalist EJ Obiena gets real talk from Mondo Duplantis

World Athletic Championships silver medalist EJ Obiena gets real talk from Mondo Duplantis
Facebook/EJ Obiena

Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena made history anew as he bagged the silver medal in the World Athletic Championships in Budapest on Saturday. Clearing the six-meter barrier, Obiena equaled his personal best, which is also the Asian record, en route to a second-place finish in the prestigious international meet.

The winner of the tournament, Armand "Mondo" Duplantis of Sweden, went past 6.10 meters.

At the end of the intense battle, the 23-year-old Swedish-American spoke about missing out on hitting a new world record and the competition he faced in Hungary, specifically the silver medalist.

"I'm not that disappointed [to miss out on the world record] because it seemed like Chris [Nilsen], EJ [Obiena] and Kurtis [Marschall] they were all in very good shape and they're all guys that can jump six meters,” Duplantis told reporters as quoted by Olympics.com.

USA’s Chris Nilsen and Australia’s Kurtis Marschall shared the bronze medal. But yes, it was Obiena who really pushed Duplantis.

"And for EJ to do that [clear 6.00m], especially on the first attempt puts a lot of pressure on you. You've got to really go out there and get it done. I'm glad I was able to do it," said Duplantis. 

Over on X (formerly Twitter), Duplantis versus Obienathe world's no. 1 and no. 2 pole vaulters, respectivelyhas become a hot topic. It only becomes more exciting when you recognize that all these tournaments are building up to the Paris Olympics next year. 

“Men’s PV is getting tighter and tighter. Ang ganda neto sa Paris Olympics,” @Iamjdee tweeted.

X user Hanyu seemed to be nervous about the next time Obiena gets to face Duplantis.

"Ang lala ni Mondo! Right now, he's so unreal," the netizen said. 

In any case, EJ won the bronze medal in last year’s World Athletic Championships. He won silver this time. What’s coming next should be self-explanatory.

(GM)

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