ERNEST JOHN “EJ” OBIENA cleared 6.0 meters for the second time this season to settle for silver behind Armand Duplantis at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Sunday.
Man, did Obiena fly at the National Athletics Centre to cement his stature as one of the world’s elite in the event and enough to give Duplantis, who remained undisputed in the world championships, a scare ahead of next year’s Paris Olympics. “I sensed he was going to have a huge day,” Obiena’s personal adviser Jim Lafferty told BusinessMirror via chat message. “He’s a warrior, an absolute warrior.”
Obiena’s bronze at Eugene, Oregon, last year was already historic, but he raised the bar higher in Budapest.
It was fun, too, watching the 27-year-old Tondo boy providing a glimpse that sooner or later, he could be the next pole vault king.
Obiena missed his first attempt at 6.0 meters but got it on his second try.
After the deadlock at 6.0 meters, Duplantis, 23, raised the bar to 6.05 and got it right away. He next targeted 6.10 meters and cleared it right away to claim the gold medal, his second consecutive in the worlds.
But he didn’t want to stop right there.
Duplantis wanted three cracks at breaking his world record mark of 6.22m, the one he keeps breaking again and again. It didn’t happen at 6.23m. He was just too drained on a muggy night. Still, it made for great theater and after Duplantis rose from the mat following his final attempt, he faced the crowd and took a bow.
Obiena went for 6.05m but failed. He got the bar higher at 6.10m and missed twice.
“EJ set the tone as the first to attempt those heights,” Lafferty said. “I really believe EJ helped pull the whole field along with him.” Bergen Jump Challenge last June 10 in Norway. He kept his Asian record at that height.
Australia’s Kurtis Marschall and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Chris Nilsen of the US shared the bronze medal at 5.95m. Thibaut Collet of France was fifth with 5.85m for an Olympic spot, while the two Asians, Bokai Huang and Jie Yao of China, cleared 5.75 meters to finish sixth and ninth, respectively. Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association chief Terry Capistrano congratulated Obiena for making world track and field history.
“We’re proud of you EJ,” Tolentino said.
DUPLANTIS DEFENDS TITLE
EVEN though he’d captured yet another gold medal, Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis wanted more. He always does.
Before leaving the stage at world championships on Saturday, the vaulter had one request—raise the bar. He wanted three cracks at breaking his world record mark but missed.
“It was great fun,” Duplantis said. For him, anyway, the reigning Olympic champion heading into Paris next summer.
“Are you ever going to let us win?” Marschall cracked.
Duplantis gave his competitors a glimmer of hope when he said he’s thinking of switching to the long jump.
Of course, he was joking.
The 23-year-old who grew up in Louisiana, went to LSU and competes for his mom’s home country of Sweden has taken his sport to new heights. It’s reflected in the performances at worlds. All four of the medal winners had to clear at least 5.95 (19-6 1/4) just to bring home some hardware, the first time that’s happened at worlds in the event.
His top rivals agree on the same thing—the presence of Duplantis elevates pole vaulting.
“Honestly, it’s a privilege to be out there with the guy because he’s pushing the sport to a place that it’s never been before,” Marschall said. “We wouldn’t want to be in any other year of pole vault.”
Duplantis has made it look so effortless, too, sort of like the pole vaulting legend himself, Sergey Bubka. Told that Bubka once won six straight world titles, Duplantis just smiled.
“I think I have a few more to go, it sounds like, before I get to six,” Duplantis said. “I’ll probably worry about three, after three maybe four, before I start getting a little bit too far ahead of myself.”
Like Bubka before him, Duplantis is a record-breaking machine. He’ has topped his own mark five more times since taking the record from Renaud Lavillenie of France in February 2020.
Last year, in the very last jump of the very last event going on at worlds in Oregon, he moved his mark to 6.21 (20-3). Earlier this year, he raised it again to 6.22. He gave 6.23 (20-4) a go Saturday but didn’t have anything left after a draining night in which he hit all six of his jumps before his world-record attempt.
“Today never really felt like a world-record competition,” Duplantis said. “It was more a pure competition and that’s how it can be.”
Duplantis has been training for moments like this his entire. Growing up in Lafayette, Louisiana, his family had a pole vault setup in the backyard, complete with a runway.
His life has been well-documented, too, with a feature film made about his called, “Born to Fly. ”
The sport is always looking for the next big thing, someone to step up and dominate like Usain Bolt used to do in the sprints. Not only dominate but serve up some riveting TV.
Could a pole vaulter assume that sort of role?
“I can understand why people would want to watch pole vaulting because I think it’s super cool and exotic,” Duplantis recently said. “As far as everything else, I just try to jump as high as I possibly can and I keep trying to push the barriers of what’s possible for a pole vaulter.
“As long as I’m doing that, then I think I’m doing my job.”
His competitors certainly appreciate the attention he brings to the event.
“It’s cool to see Mondo jump high,” Nilsen said. “But it’s cool to see the exposure he has on the world.” With AP
Image credits: AP