EJ Obiena claims world’s fifth spot in pole vaulting

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

When it rains, it pours indeed.

After setting the new Philippine record for pole vaulting, Filipino EJ Obiena added another career milestone after making it into the top five of the world’s international ranking.

Obiena improved from his world No. 6 spot to join the elite magic five of Armand Duplantis, Christopher Nilsen, Sam Kendricks, and Renaud Lavillenie.

“World No. 5. An ordinary man guided by God’s extraordinary grace. I may not meet the expectation of all, but I keep trying,” Obiena posted in his Facebook account.

After a historic silver-medal campaign during the recently concluded Wanda Diamond League leg in France where he broke the PH record again, Obiena skyrocketed his points to 1,361.

Obiena is only 19 points away from overtaking the no. 4 spot occupied by Lavillenie of France and will still have a long way to go before the year ends.

The prized Filipino pole vaulter is aiming to sweep his participation in the remaining pole vaulting major events on the international stage after his 5.93-meter performance in France.