Final-bound EJ Obiena ‘sorry for all the stress’ after tense start in Paris Olympics

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines held its breath as pole vault ace EJ Obiena almost suffered a shock exit from the Paris Olympics.

But Obiena pulled through for the entire country and stayed in the medal hunt as he advanced to the men’s pole vault final set on Monday, August 5 (Tuesday, August 6, Manila time).

“Sorry for all the stress. My whole insides were rolling upside down and inside out,” Obiena wrote in an Instagram story.

Obiena nearly saw his dreams and years of hard work go down the drain after a nerve-racking start in the qualification as he committed back-to-back fouls at 5.60 meters.

His early struggles proved to be a surprise considering Obiena – the Asian record holder of 6.00m – cleared at least 5.70m in each of his last five competitions before the Olympics.

Obiena, though, held his nerve, opted to raise the bar to 5.70m, and hurdled the height in a single attempt to stave off elimination.

He then easily surpassed 5.75m to finish seventh overall and claim his place in the 12-man finale headlined by reigning Olympic champion and world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden.

“Thank you for everyone who stuck through the emotional rollercoaster,” said Obiena, who is ranked second in the world behind Duplantis.

Obiena seeks to deliver the Philippines’ first Olympic medal in athletics since Miguel White won a men’s 400m hurdles bronze in the 1936 Berlin Games as he aims to bounce back from his 11th-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics.

Duplantis, whose world record stands at 6.24m, hopes to defend his throne against a formidable field that includes world No. 3 Sam Kendricks of the USA and No. 5 Kurtis Marschall of Australia. – Rappler.com