FILE – The Philippines’ Ernest John Obiena competes in the men’s pole vault final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on August 3, 2021. —REUTERS
MANILA, Philippines—EJ Obiena’s continental record jump this year saw him enter the World Athletics’ list of top performers for 2021.
World Athletics, the governing body of athletics and track and field in the world, placed Obiena’s 5.93-meter vault at the third spot of the rankings, tied with the United States’ Sam Kendricks and Russia’s Timur Morgunov.
Obiena, a finalist in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, broke the Asian record in September when he claimed the gold medal in the 17th International Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria.
Reigning gold medalist Armand Duplantis claimed the top spot in the rankings when he recorded two 6.10m jumps in the Serbian Open Indoor Meeting 2021 in Beograd, Serbia and in the FBK Games, Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, Netherlands.
USA’s Christopher Nilsen was at second in the World Athletics’ year-ender when he cleared 5.97m in the Tokyo Olympics—a jump that gave him the silver medal in the competition.
Kendricks, a 1st Lieutenant in the US Army Reserve, and Morgunov cleared 5.93m in the same competition at the Diamond Discipline in Zurich, Switzerland.