By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Filipino pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena took home a bronze medal in the Brussels leg of the 2023 Diamond League in Belgium for his third podium finish of the week on Saturday, September 9.

Obiena, the first Filipino athlete to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, landed at second runner-up in the competition with 5.92 meters, the same height as United States’ Sam Kendricks.

But it was Kendricks who was awarded the silver medal as he cleared 5.92 meters in one attempt, while Obiena netted it on his third try.

The two pole vaulters failed to clear the 6.02 mark.

Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, the world’s no. 1 pole vaulter, took home the gold medal after clearing 6.02 and 6.10 meters, setting a new meet record without any opposition behind him.

Duplantis, the gold medal winner in the men’s pole vault competition of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, attempted to set a new world record at 6.23 meters, but failed to do it in three tries.

Obiena, a former University of Santo Tomas pole vault standout, was happy with his third podium finish in just a week and hopes to continue his consistency in his upcoming tournaments.

Prior to the bronze medal, Obiena won a gold medal in the Internationales Stadionfest last week with 5.92 meters, followed by a gold in the NetAachen Domspringen tournament with the same clearance.

Before his fruitful week, Obiena had a rare letdown as he missed the podium after finishing dead last among 10 pole vaulters in the Zurich leg of the Diamond League two weeks ago.

The 6-foot-3 Obiena will next see action in the Diamond League finals in Eugene, Oregon from September 16 to 17, followed by the 19th Asian Games beginning September 22 in Hangzhou, China.

“Happy with the consistency, but definitely lots of things to work on. A few more days in Europe before we head to Eugene for the Diamond League Final,” Obiena said in a Facebook post./ASC, WDJ