Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena has inched closer to an Olympic medal after qualifying for the finals of the men's pole vault event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The event took place on Saturday at the Stade de France.
Despite a shaky beginning—skipping the opening height of 5.40 meters and missing his first two attempts at 5.60 meters—Obiena managed to secure his place in the finals. Instead of making a third attempt at 5.60 meters, he opted to move directly to the next height. He then smoothly cleared 5.70 meters and 5.75 meters on his first tries.
Obiena did not need to clear the 5.80 meters qualification standard as only 12 athletes advanced to the finals.
World No. 1 and record holder Mondo Duplantis of Sweden also qualified, clearing 5.60 meters and 5.75 meters. Sondre Guttormsen of Norway and Emmanouil Karalis of Greece secured the second and third seeds in Group A, respectively.
In a surprising turn, World No. 4 and Tokyo silver medalist Christopher Nilsen of the USA, along with World No. 11 Piotr Lisek of Poland, failed to advance from Group B.
The decorated Filipino vaulter will compete in the medal round on Tuesday at 1 a.m. Philippine time.
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