At A Glance
- Two-time Olympian EJ Obiena couldn't sustain the momentum of his recent victories after finishing sixth overall in the men's pole vault final of the 2026 Diamond League Lausanne Leg in Switzerland Friday, Aug. 21.
EJ Obiena (EJ Obiena Facebook post)
Two-time Olympian EJ Obiena couldn’t sustain the momentum of his recent victories after finishing sixth overall in the men’s pole vault final of the 2026 Diamond League Lausanne Leg in Switzerland Friday, Aug. 21.
Coming into the tournament with three straight titles in Europe, Obiena, 30, cleared 5.80 meters in two attempts before failing to get over 5.90m
World No. 1 Armand Duplantis of Sweden stamped his class anew, clearing every height on his first attempt. He then set a new meet record of 6.21 meters before making two unsuccessful attempts then retired at 6.32m, just shy of his personal best of 6.31m.
Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis (6.16) and Australian Kurtis Marschall (5.91) sealed the second and third honors, respectively.
The former world No. 2 Obiena looks forward to bettering his performance when he vies in the next leg of the annual global athletics joust in Silesia, Poland hosting the 13th leg on Sunday, Aug. 23.
“5.81m here in Lausanne. We [will] go again to Silesia on Sunday,” Obiena wrote on his social media post.