EJ Obiena places 7th in failed title defense
EJ Obiena’s podium streak ends with a seventh place finish in Germany.-Photo from EJ Obiena’s Instagram
MANILA, Philippines—EJ Obiena was unable to successfully defend his ISTAF Indoor crown on Sunday night at PSD Bank Dome in Germany.
The Filipino pole vault ace finished in seventh place following back-to-back podium finishes in his previous outings.
The two-time Olympian cleared 5.55m in first his attempt but couldn’t hurdle 5.75m that left him out of a podium finish.
READ: EJ Obiena focused on vaulting back to lofty ranking
“Not how I wanted it to go,” wrote Obiena in an Instagram post. “Made one bar and summed up the whole competition. Taking the positives and the lessons to the next one.”
Home bet Torben Blech snagged the gold medal after a 5.80m clearance.
Obiena’s fellow Olympians Sam Kendricks (USA) and Ersu Sasma (Turkey) took home the silver and bronze, respectively, after they overcame 5.70m.
The world No. 4 Obiena ruled the last year’s edition with a 5.93m jump that also set the national and Asian records.
Obiena was coming off a silver finish at the Meeting Cottbus and a golden performance in the Meeting Metz Moselle Athlelor.
