EJ fourth in Zurich

MANILA, Philippines — Pole-vaulter EJ Obiena missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish in the Wanda Diamond League finals in Zurich, Switzerland yesterday.

The 25-year-old Filipino cleared 5.83 meters after two tries but fell short in an attempt for 5.93m to settle for No. 4 in the elite six-man finale.

At 5.93m, Obiena could have reset his Philippine record of 5.91m and surpassed the long-standing Asian record of Kazakhstan’s Igor Potapovich (5.92m) set in 1998.

Still, it was a strong showing for the Filipino pride following a pair of silver medal finishes in the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial 2021 in Chorzow, Poland and the Diamond League leg in Paris last week, pushing him to No. 5 in the world rankings.

Reigning Olympic champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden ruled the Diamond League, setting a new meet record of 6.06m with American Sam Kendricks (5.93m) and Russian Timur Morgunov (5.93m) copping the silver and bronze medal, respectively