The Philippines’ Ernest John Obiena reacts as he competes in the men’s pole vault event during the IAAF Diamond League “Memorial Van Damme” athletics meeting at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on September 2, 2022. (Photo by VIRGINIE LEFOUR / BELGA / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines-World No. 3 EJ Obiena cracked the aura of invincibility that Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis normally flaunts during tournaments, beating the peerless pole vault world record holder in the Diamond League on Friday in Brussels, Belgium.
Obiena sailed past 5.91 meters on his third attempt and shook his head in disbelief as he emerged triumphant.
“It took a lot of luck, a good day and some excellent calls to beat Mondo today,” said Obiena.
There might, indeed, have been an element of luck.
SHOCK IN THE POLE VAULT@ejobiena of the Philippines beats world record holder @mondohoss600 with 5.91m to 5.81m 🇵🇭
📸 Pic 1 @DanVernonPhoto @Diamond_League pic.twitter.com/OZkZXTSE25
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) September 2, 2022
Duplantis failed three times at 5.91m, a shock result for a person who owns the pole vault world record of 6.21m.
“I did a lot of things poorly technically,” said Duplantis, who added that the loss would spur him to better.
“It’s rare for me to jump the way I did. Maybe I needed a bit of a wake-up call. I’ve got to come back next year and do something more special for the people that came out,” he said.
Duplantis maintained that he felt he could have jumped higher.
Sweden’s Armand Duplantis competes in the men’s pole vault event during the men’s one hour race during the IAAF Diamond League “Memorial Van Damme” athletics meeting at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on September 2, 2022. (Photo by DIRK WAEM / BELGA / AFP)
“But I didn’t jump as I would have liked, for sure. I am human and I make mistakes and I definitely made some today. I didn’t find the good rhythm on the runway today. I was just thinking about the wrong things. It happens sometimes. It’s not that easy. You need to be in the exact angle and you need the speed to take off and I didn’t find that today.”
American Chris Nilsen finished third with 5.71m in the battle of the top three pole vaulters in the world.
“Third with 5.71m is all I can say. No one produced any good marks today except Ernest John with a first Diamond League win,” he said. “Everyone is a little tired with the end of the season. I am ready to go to the Diamond League Final. In Zurich the goal is a top three and 5.90m.
“If I make this I will shoot for 6m. I maybe need to do some speedwork because I felt kind of sluggish today.”
Obiena, too, has a number in mind to shoot for as the stars of the sport head for Zurich.
“It´s always my goal to win, but I definitely have the magic number of 6m on my mind. That’s what I´m training for and I really think that I’m capable of jumping that height,” Obiena said. “It’s only a matter of time and some good circumstances.”