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By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena, who will be heading to the Tokyo Olympics, was back on the podium and won bronze at the Golden Gala competition in Italy on Friday (Manila time).
Twenty-four-year-old Obiena broke a new season record of 5.80 meters and held her ground against a solid field of competitors in the Rome stage of the Diamond League.
It was a continuation of the stable form the Filipino has had since he resumed his season, interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Obiena cleared a similar height with silver winner Ben Broeders of Belgium, but the latter did so on two attempts while the former did so on his third attempt.
The gold winner was Swede Armand Duplantis, who broke a height record of 6.15 meters. Now it’s the new outdoor world record, eclipsing the 26-year-old record of 6.14 meters set by Ukrainian legend Sergey Bubka in 1994.
Completing the top 5 were Renaud Lavillenie (5.70 meters) from France and Harry Coppell (5.60 meters) from Great Britain.
In a post on his Facebook page after his departure in Rome, Obiena said that he was happy to have won his third bronze medal and sixth since he resumed his season and posted the best production of the season.
“It was a tough competition, but it pushed me to record the best season of 5.8 million,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to his next competitions.
Last week, Obiena won gold at 59th Ostrava Golden Spike in the Czech Republic.
Obiena won gold at last year’s Southeast Asian Games and is one of four Filipino athletes who have already secured a spot at the 2021 Olympics in Japan, alongside gymnast Carlos Yulo and boxers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish. Great.
Next up for him is the Diamond League finals in Doha, Qatar.
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