Obiena ends 5th as Mondo nails new WR

(UPDATE) FILIPINO pole vault ace Ernest John "EJ" Obiena placed fifth in the Silesia leg of the Wanda Diamond League at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzow, Poland on Monday (Manila time).

Obiena could only clear 5.82 (meters) m as back-to-back Olympic champ Armand "Mondo" Duplantis of Sweden reset the world record to 6.26 m in his second try for the gold, topping the 6.25 m he posted at the Paris Games three weeks ago.

Sam Kendricks of the United States, the silver medalist in Paris, finished second to Duplantis anew with his season best 6.0-m clearance in his second attempt.

Emmanouil Karalis of Greece, who beat Obiena for the last podium place in Paris, placed third again with a personal best 6.0 m, losing to Kendricks due to one extra try at the said height.

KC Lightfoot of the United States finished fourth with a season best 5.92-m clearance.

Obiena, owner of the Asian record clearance of 6.0 m, incurred back-to-back fouls at 5.92 m before using his last attempt at 6.0 m which he likewise failed to clear.

The 28-year-old Obiena, whose season best is 5.97 m, skipped the starting height of 5.42 m and aced the following elevation at 5.62 m in just one attempt.

The pride of Tondo skipped anew, this time at 5.72 m to clear 5.82 in only try which proved to be the last clearance he made.

Obiena missed the podium for the fifth time in 10 outdoor tournaments this year including the Paris Games where he placed fourth.

Last Thursday in his first tiff after Paris, Obiena finished joint third at the Diamond League's Lausanne leg where he cleared 5.82 meters.

Obiena will next compete at the last leg of the Diamond League in Zurich on September 5 and then in the final in Brussels on September 13.

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