Franco Nube 
Philippines fell short of reaching the podium as EJ Obiena was unable to clear the bar at 5.95 meters after three attempts, but still managed to climb to rank four during the men’s pole vault finals at the Paris Olympics.
The world rank number 2 pole vaulter, Ernest John Obiena, managed to reach the top 4 among 12 competitors after he rose above 5.90 meters during the late phases of the event, but the 5.95m mark proved too high for the Filipino phenom this time.
Dominating the event was the Swedish vaulter, Armand Duplantis, soaring above 6.25 meters, setting a new World and Olympic record. Trailing behind was USA’s Sam Kendricks (5.95m) and the bronze medal was snatched by Emmanouil Karalis (5.90m) of Greece.
Although Obiena and Karalis both failed to clear the same height of 5.95m, Karalis edged out Obiena due to the latter’s missed attempt at 5.80m during the early moments of the event.
Ranking 4th this Olympics is a massive improvement from Obiena’s performance during the Tokyo Olympics, where he finished at 12th place.
Obiena set his personal record at 6m during the World Athletics Championship in 2023, earning him the Asian record, but the stars failed to align for the Filipino athlete during his Olympic stint as he was unable to reach his personal best during the competition.
