Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena made history on Sunday, August 27, by clinching the silver medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. Obiena cleared a height of 6.00 meters, matching his own Asian record and securing second place behind world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden.
Duplantis, the reigning Olympic champion, retained his world title with a clearance of 6.10 meters. He later attempted to break his own world record of 6.22 meters but was unsuccessful.
Obiena’s accomplishment builds on his previous history-making performance last year in Eugene, Oregon, where he won the bronze medal behind Duplantis and 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Chris Nilsen.
Australian Kurtis Marschall and Chris Nilsen shared the bronze medal this year with identical clearances of 5.95 meters.
The competition began with 12 finalists, with the bar initially set at 5.55 meters. Only five athletes, including Obiena, were able to clear 5.85 meters. Duplantis, Obiena, Marschall, Nilsen, and France’s Thibaut Collet were the last remaining contenders as the bar was raised to 6.00 meters.
Obiena succeeded on his second attempt, joining Duplantis in clearing the challenging height. The remaining vaulters struggled, leading to eliminations for Collet, Marschall, and Nilsen.
This silver medal serves as a major stepping stone for Obiena, who has already secured a spot at next year’s Paris Olympics, where he aims for another podium finish. This marks the second time Obiena has cleared the 6.00-meter mark, having joined the elite “6-meter club” in June when he won the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway.
Obiena has been on an impressive streak, not missing a podium since his gold medal win at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia last May. His latest feat adds to the growing excitement as he prepares for the Paris Olympics and cements his status as one of Asia’s premier athletes in pole vaulting.