ERNEST JOHN (EJ) Obiena, the World No. 4 ranked Filipino pole vaulter, continues to battle to regain his old form, as he missed another podium finish in the Diamond League’s Xiamen Leg at the Xiamen Egret Stadium in China. 

On Sunday, the Olympian finished seventh in the opening leg of the 15-leg tournament, which included World No. 1 Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, Emmanouil Karalis of Greece, and Menno Vloon of the Netherlands.

Obiena, who had recently resumed his outdoor season, cleared 5.42 meters and 5.62 meters in two attempts. However, Obiena fell short of clearing the 5.72m in three attempts, forcing him to falter. 

Duplantis went on to win the championship after clearing 5.92m, while Karalis finished second after clearing 5.82m. Vloon cleared the same height as Karalis, but he was awarded bronze due to a countback.

Bounce Back, EJ

Before traveling to China, Obiena spent some time in the Philippines, holding a training camp at the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub in Cavite, his first training camp on home soil. 

During his stay in the country, the pole vaulter said that he is still working to regain his old form after suffering a season-ending injury last year, resulting in a stress fracture in his spine following the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“There’s a lot of adjustments for sure. When you’ve had pain for a year, you adapt your technique around it. Now I have to re-learn and remind myself — hey, there’s no more pain,” Obiena said.

“Physically, I’m stronger now. I’m killing myself in training trying to be better. Hopefully, it works.“

“I want to be competitive again, be more consistent than last year, and really recover the points I lost. I missed quite a few competitions last year. And of course, I want to defend all the crowns I still hold,” he added.

Nonetheless, Obiena has plenty of time to recover from this performance. He will now seek to reclaim his form when the Diamond League’s Shanghai leg begins on Saturday, May 3.