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Olympics: EJ Obiena advances to pole vault final

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Karl Cedrick Basco, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/afp/07/31/20191207-obiena-ej-sea-games-afp-0.jpg"/><figcaption>Ernest John Obiena from the Philippines clears the bar in the men&#x27;s pole vault athletics event at the SEA Games (Southeast Asian Games) in the athletics stadium in Clark City on December 7, 2019. <em>Ted Aljibe, AFP/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>EJ Obiena came up in the clutch in Olympic men’s pole vault on Saturday to advance to the final round. </p><p>With his campaign in the balance, Obiena cleared 5.75 meters in his third and final try at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium to stay in contention for a medal.</p><p>The final round is slated on August 3, Tuesday, 6:20 p.m. (Manila time), as Obiena bids to become the first track and field athlete from the Philippines to win an Olympic medal in 85 years.</p><p>Germany’s Bo Kanda Lita Baehre and Christopher Nilsen of the USA submitted the only flawless showing, hitting 5.50, 5.65 and 5.75 without a foul in the elimination phase that was missing his American Sam Kendricks, who tested positive for coronavirus. </p><p>Two-time world champion Kendricks was withdrawn from the Games after his positive test, a fate that also befell Argentina&#x27;s German Chiaraviglio.</p><p>World record holder and gold favorite Mondo Duplantis of Sweden placed third behind Lita Baehre and Nilsen in Group B. </p><p>Duplantis is the only man to have gone over six metres this year, but there are four through who have reached that milestone outdoors at some stage in their careers.</p><p>Brazil’s Thiago Braz, the reigning Olympic champion who was Obiena’s training partner in the leadup to the Games, needed 2 tries to clear 5.75. </p><p>Obiena had trained for years years at the World Athletics elite training camp in Formia, Italy, under coach Vitaly Petrov, a former mentor of world and Olympic world champion Sergey Bubka.</p><p>He made a name for himself when he ruled the Salto Con L’Asta contest with 5.81 meters in September 2019, surpassing the Olympic qualifying standard of 5.80 meters to emerge as the country’s first qualifier to the Summer Games.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/20/21/tokyo-olympics-olympian-profile-obiena">Filipino Olympian profile: Major injury, pandemic no hindrance to vaulter Obiena</a></li></ul><p>He returned home to finally bag his first SEA Games gold, setting a new record in clearing 5.45 meters in the process at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium in Capas town, Tarlac in December 2019.</p><p>With less than a month to the quadrennial meet, Obiena shattered his previous outdoor record of 5.85 meters when he cleared the 5.87-meter mark in the World Athletics Continental Tour in Bydgoszcz, Poland.</p><div><em>For breaking news and latest developments on the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, visit <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/tokyo-olympics">https://news.abs-cbn.com/tokyo-olympics</a></em></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1738289" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Philippine pride EJ Obiena managed to book a spot in the final round of pole vault at the Tokyo Olympics, keeping his medal hope alive. </p>

Philippine pride EJ Obiena managed to book a spot in the final round of pole vault at the Tokyo Olympics, keeping his medal hope alive.

Olympics: EJ Obiena advances to pole vault final

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Olympics: EJ Obiena advances to pole vault final

Karl Cedrick Basco,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 31, 2021 10:48 AM PHT

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Updated Jul 31, 2021 11:35 PM PHT

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Tokyo Olympics

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