EJ Obiena, of the Philippines, competes in the men’s pole vault qualification at Paris Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
MANILA, Philippines — EJ Obiena slipped down to world No. 3 in the pole vault rankings after the Paris Olympics 2024 where he finished outside the podium.
From being the world No.2 since July last year, the Filipino Olympic pole vaulter slid slightly in the rankings with American Sam Kendricks gaining the second spot after earning the silver medal in Paris.
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Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, who set a world record of 6.25 for the gold, remained No.1 while bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece rose to the fourth spot from No.8.
Obiena narrowly missed the bronze after failing to clear 5.95m, losing to Karalis by countback.
The Asian Games gold medalist, who said he has already gone back to training after the Paris Games, recently announced his plans to bring international pole vaulters into the country next month for a meet.
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He recently received P1 million from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., another one million from Filipino Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation, Chiang Kai Shek College Board of Trustees, and Angelo King Foundation, and P500,000 from Manila.
Obiena, who flew back to the Philippines along with the bulk of the Team Philippines delegation, was not present during the Heroes parade on Wednesday.