Golden 5.91M

EJ back in Diamond League

MANILA, Philippines — World No. 13 pole vaulter EJ Obiena cleared 5.91m to claim the gold medal and set a new meet record at the Golden Sand in Miedzyzdroje, Poland, yesterday morning (Manila time), registering his highest elevation in 49 competitions since marking 5.97m two years ago.

Obiena, 30, did it in style as he soared over the bar in only one attempt and outclassed a field of 11, including prospective Asian Games challengers Seifeldin Abdelsalam of Qatar, Hussein Asim Al Hizam of Saudi Arabia and Masaki Ejima of Japan.

The clearance earned for Obiena an invitation to break back into Diamond League status starting with the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzow, Poland, on Aug. 23. The event is in honor of Skolimowska, the youngest Olympic hammer champion who died of a pulmonary embolism at 26 in 2009. Obiena’s previous Diamond League appearance was in Doha last June when he finished eighth at 5.42m.

“Finally, some 90s again,” said Obiena. PATAFA president Terry Capistrano spoke with Obiena and said “he’s very upbeat, excited and feeling a great degree of confidence and at the same time, very wary of a strong competitive field in the coming Asian Games.”

Abdelsalam took the silver at 5.75m while World No. 15 Cole Walsh of the US bagged the bronze at 5.70m on countback over Obiena’s former training partner Al Hizam. “EJ aimed to put some distance between himself and those guys ahead of the Asian Games,” noted Obiena’s adviser Jim Lafferty. “He did amazing despite a short runway and used a bigger pole but not the biggest. EJ made it on his first attempt and completely clean. From 5.55m, they went up only 5cm at a time so he had multiple passes. EJ already won at 5.80m then went 5.91m. He tried to clear 6.00m but his legs were tired and the runway was too short. For 6.00m, he has to shift back about a foot. If he has the proper long runway, moves up a pole and goes to the right conditions, we’re back at 6.00m.”

Lafferty said returning to the Diamond League from the World Athletics Continental Tour silver-level competition in Miedzyzdroje is a big step forward. “Now that he’s over 5.90m, the phone is ringing,” he said. Obiena’s 5.91m clearance is the fifth highest this season after Mondo Duplantis’ 6.15m, Emmanouil Karalis’ 6.00m, Sondre Guttormsen’s 6.00m and Chris Nilsen’s 5.92m. The world’s top eight vaulters will compete in the first $10 million Ultimate Athletics Championships in Budapest on Sept. 11-13 and Obiena hopes to crash the party.