Olympic pole vaulter EJ Obiena returned to tournament for the fourth time this month, but failed to make a podium finish this time at the 66th Orlen Memorial Janusza Kusocinskiego in Poland on Tuesday.
Obiena, who is gearing up for next year’s Tokyo Olympics, finished fifth in a field of eight after clearing the height at 5.62 meters on his third attempt.
The 24-year-old attempted 5.72m once and 5.77m twice, but failed.
Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sam Kendricks of the United States, won the event with a season-best 5.82m while Netherlands’ Menno Vloon also posted his season-best of 5.72m for second.
Germany’s Raphael Holzdeppe settled for third with 5.62m on his first attempt.
Obiena expressed disappointment in his performance, acknowledging that he was “childish and immature” during the tournament.
“Will learn from this and get to work and finally get over this hitch,” he said in a Facebook post.
READ: I need to get used to spectator-less competition, says EJ Obiena
Obiena competed in three previous tournaments with podium finishes: the 13th Triveneto Meet in Italy where he finished silver (5.45m), the elite Diamond League in Monaco where he pocketed bronze (5.70m), and a virtual meet where he placed second (5.60m).
Despite these exposures, Obiena has yet to reach his personal best of 5.81m.