Although it was not everything he had hoped it to be, EJ Obiena impressively made it work. 

After a disastrous journey in the Czech Republic, Obiena bounced back in brilliant style a few days later after bagging the silver medal in the Diamond League in Oslo, Norway on Friday, May 31. 

The Filipino pole vaulter cleared 5.72m to secure the podium finish which he wound up sharing with Emmanouil Karalis of Greece. 

Last Tuesday, Obiena encountered multiple issues with his pole which ended up breaking as he was only able to make his opening bar in the Ostrava Golden Spike that saw him eventually settle in seventh – failing to duplicate his bronze medal last year in the same event. 

There, Obiena could only soar past 5.52m, which became his second lowest clearance in nearly two years following a previous career-low 5.45m in the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Hungary in 2022.

Ranked second in the world, Obiena has been bracing for his Paris Olympics campaign after being the first Filipino bet to secure his spot in the grandest sporting stage. 

Interestingly, the Asian record holder had another one of his poles break in Oslo, only this time USA’s KC Lightfoot, who captured the gold medal at 5.81m, generously lent his pole to Obiena to jump on. 

Obiena also had Dutch man Menno Vloon to thank in his conquest after getting a hand from his competitors. 

The 28-year-old pole vaulter got things rolling with a gold medal finish in the 2024 Los Angeles Grand Prix with a 5.80m clearance, where he also had problems with transportation for his pole. 

As Obiena concludes the season-opening Diamond League, he sets his sights on Bauhausgalan in Stockholm.