Pole vaulter EJ Obiena continued his strong showing in the indoor season after capturing the silver medal in the ISTAF Berlin at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany Friday, Feb. 11 (Saturday in Manila).
The 2020 Tokyo Olympian cleared 5.82 meters on his first attempt to prevail via countback against fellow Olympian Kurtis Marschall of Australia, who registered the same height.
Obiena settled behind world record holder Armand Duplantis, who remained unstoppable in only his second appearance this season with a new meet record of 6.06m for the gold medal.
The Swedish superstar attempted to reset his world indoor mark of 6.20m by trying 6.22m, but failed.
This would be the second time that Obiena would place behind Duplantis at the podium this season after finishing with a bronze at the Mondo Classic early this month.
The Filipino bet never missed the podium in all his six appearances so far, winning three gold, two silver and one bronze.
Meanwhile, Obiena refused to accept donations from his supporters amid financial woes that he disclosed on social media recently.
In another social media post, Obiena said he appreciated the generosity of his fans, but declined the offer as they had already done their part by paying their taxes, which are used to fund his training and competitions in Europe.
“I am a national athlete and my expenses have been approved for payment by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and funded from taxpayer revenues,” Obiena wrote.
“It is just not the right thing to do to ask you to pay once via paying taxes, and then pay again privately. This is ‘double dipping’ and it’s not ethical.”
Obiena recently revealed that some members of his team have threatened to pull out after over a year of not receiving compensation.
PSC chairman Richard Bachmann, who only assumed post last month, said he has reached out to Obiena and vowed to resolve this issue.
“(The PSC) will continue to speed things up to help their national sports association and Mr. Obiena,” Bachmann said.
“We continue to give the best support we can to our elite athletes.”