EJ Obiena finally sees action in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 as he looks to make the finals of men's pole vault.
A big hitter finally enters the Paris 2024 field for Team Philippines.
EJ Obiena is set to see action for his second Olympic Games, looking to make the finals of men’s pole vault.
But to do that, the world’s no. 2 pole vaulter will have to qualify, with his group projected to start jumping at 4:10 p.m. Saturday (Philippine time).
Obiena is among 31 pole vaulters fighting for medals in Paris 2024, and the men’s pole vault finals will take all athletes that would meet the qualification standard, or the at least the 12 best performers.
The standard is set at 5.80 meters.
Among the 31, 16 pole vaulters have cleared at least 5.80 meters in the current athletics season.
However, only six have cleared at least 6.0 meters for their careers, including Obiena.
The others who have cleared at least 6.0 meters are Sondre Guttormsen of Norway, Piotr Lisek of Poland, Christopher Nielsen and Sam Kendricks of Team USA, and world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden.
Duplantis, Obiena, Kendricks, and Nielsen are expected to fight for podium slots, especially as they enter the Olympics as the top-4 ranked pole vaulters in the world.
But while Obiena is a huge local favorite to win a medal in Paris 2024, questions linger about his lead-up to the Olympics.
EJ described his road to Paris as “bumpy” and has been dealing with “physical problems” since April.
Nevertheless, the athletics star made it to Paris in “one piece” and is looking to improve upon his initial Olympics stint from Tokyo 2020, where he finished 11th.
Obiena is in Group A of the qualifications and is expected to be the 13th pole vaulter to jump.