No podium for Obiena in world indoors; Duplantis stays No. 1, sets new record

EJ Obiena placed tied for ninth in the men’s pole vault of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland, March 22 (Philippine time).

Obiena cleared 5.70 meters, matching American Chris Nilsen, but finished outside the podium after falling short of advancing, missing all three attempts at 5.85m.

The Filipino Olympian opened strong with first-attempt clearances at 5.50m and 5.70m before failing in all three attempts at 5.85m.

Up front, Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis dominated the competition, setting a new championship record of 6.25m to capture the gold medal.

Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis took silver with 6.05m, while Australia’s Kurtis Marschall secured bronze with a personal-best record of 6.00m.

Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen and the United States’ Zachery Bradford both cleared 5.95m to finish just outside the podium.

Obiena continues to solidify his status as a continental icon by capturing gold medals at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in China, the ISTAF Indoor Berlin, and the International Springer-Meeting in Germany.