World no. 2 EJ Obiena has the chance of a lifetime as he competes in the men's pole vault finals of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Following Carlos Yulo’s golden rush in Artistic Gymnastics, another man can make history for the Philippines in the Olympics.
World no. 2 EJ Obiena will jump for his own Olympic glory, competing in the men’s pole vault finals in Paris 2024 on Tuesday (Philippine time).
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After legitimate concerns in the preliminaries, where he was forced into a do-or-die situation before even completing one jump, Obiena heads to the finale with renewed hope as he looks to join Yulo, Nesthy Petecio, and Aira Villegas as medal winners in Paris 2024.
Obiena is set to jump last in the 12-man field, and among his rivals for gold are fellow top pole vaulters.
Leading the list is world no. 1 and world record holder Armand Duplantis, followed by world no. 3 Sam Kendricks and no. 5 Kurtis Marschall.
Among the 12 finalists, four pole vaulters have cleared at least 6 meters for their careers, including Obiena. However, only Duplantis has cleared over 6 meters this season.
After Duplantis though, Obiena has the second-best mark this season at 5.97 meters.
The men’s pole vault finals are set for 1:00 a.m. on August 6 (PHI).