The Philippines’ and Asia’s top pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena now has a chance to make it to no. 2 in the world rankings.
The opportunity to do so opened up for the 27-year-old Obiena last week when he found himself sharing 1422 points in second and third positions, with Chris Nilsen of the United States in the World Athletics Rankings.
But things changed after Obiena competed and won the gold medal in the Asian Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, while Nilsen claimed the bronze medal on the same day Sunday at the Diamond League’s Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial tournament in Chorzow, Poland.
Nilsen moved a point ahead of Obiena with 1423 points at no. 2 spot, while the Formia, Italy-based Filipino slipped to third, still with 1422 points.
This prompted Obiena to quickly pack his bags with his Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov and head for Istanbul, in time for the two of last four legs of the Diamond League in Europe.
The Diamond League is an annual series of top-tier elite track and field athletic competitions comprising 14 of the best invitational athletics meetings in the world.
Obiena now seeks to see action in the Monaco leg on July 21, in London on July 23, and Zurich on Aug. 31, before the last stop in Brussels on Sept. 8.
“My Coach Vitali and I literally had to rush to the airport and I am landing soon in Istanbul, en route back to Europe. As many of you know, I am chasing on improving my ranking from current no. 3 in the world to no. 2 and important meets like Diamond League are critical given their weight in the ranking calculations. I want to achieve this for the Philippines,” said Obiena in a statement, following a Zoom meeting with scribes in Manila on Monday evening.
Top Swedish bet Armand Duplantis remains on top of the world rankings with 1566 points.
Obiena, who is now preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics, smashed the four-year-old record he owned when he cleared 5.91 meters on his second attempt in the Bangkok Asian meet. He surpassed the 5.71 meter mark he set back in 2019 in Doha, Qatar.
Obiena, whose huddle with Filipino scribes was made possible through his sponsor, James Lafferty, is already reserved of a berth in the Paris Olympics and promised to be consistent by going above 5.80 meters.
By clearing 5.91 meters in the 2023 Asian Championships, Obiena’s performance was considered as the biggest improvement recorded in the tournament’s history, where he bettered the record by 20 centimeters.
So far, there are only three Filipino athletes, who have won a title more than once in the Asian Championships — sprinters Lydia de Vegas-Mercado and Isidro del Prado, and now, Obiena.
Obiena’s training partners are Asim Alhizam Hussain of Saudi Arabia, who claimed the silver medal at 5.56 meters, and Bokai Huang of China, who earned the bronze medal during the Asian meet.
Hussain and Huang, along with Obiena are coached by Petrov.
“We competed against each other. But at the end of the day, the brotherhood and camaraderie are there,” said Obiena.