At A Glance
- The two-time Olympian cleared 5.80 meters to finish behind world No. 1 and Olympic champion Armand Duplantis, who captured the gold medal with an impressive 6.20m clearance.
EJ Obiena (File Photo)
EJ Obiena stumbled against his elite counterparts and settled for seventh place in the Silesia leg of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League in Poland on Sunday, Aug. 23.
The two-time Olympian cleared 5.80 meters to finish behind world No. 1 and Olympic champion Armand Duplantis, who captured the gold medal with an impressive 6.20m clearance.
Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen turned heads and bagged the silver via countback over Paris Olympics bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece after both athletes registered identical 6.00m marks.
“A lil 5.80m here in Poland. Para sa bayan,” Obiena wrote on social media moments after the tournament.
The 30-year-old Tondo native needed two attempts to clear the opening height of 5.50m, but managed 5.65m and 5.80m with ease.
He tried 5.90m twice before risking his final attempt at 6.00m, but failed.
Obiena was coming off a sixth-place performance at the Athletissima Lausanne in Switzerland where he posted 5.81m. Prior to that, he won three consecutive gold medals, including a season-best 5.91m feat at the Golden Sand in Poland.
Obiena is gearing up for the 2026 Asian Games where he is expected to defend the crown with upcoming tournaments in Zurich, Switzerland.