Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena set a new season-best en route to capturing a bronze medal in the Rome leg of the IAAF Diamond League yesterday.
Sweden’s Armand Duplantis won the gold in record-setting style, clearing a new tournament-high 6.15 meters.
Obiena finished in joint second with Belgium’s Ben Broeder, who peaked too at 5.8 meters, but the latter clinched the count-back tiebreaker to take the silver.
Obiena soared to 5.8 meters, smashing his previous 2020 best of 5.74 in a gold medal performance in Ostrava, the Czech Republic last week.
He came just one centimeter short of the Southeast Asian (SEA) record 5.81 meters he set in last year’s SEA Games in Capas, Tarlac last December.
Obiena attempted to break the SEA record by going for 5.85 meters, but he failed to clear the height.
The podium finishers are expected to grace the Doha leg of the Diamond League next week.*PNA
