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Ernest John Obiena competes in the men's pole vault finals of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on Monday. Antonin Thuillier, AFP (UPDATED) Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena just missed out on a podium finish in the 2024 Paris Olympics, placing fourth overall. Obiena faulted three times at the 5.95-meter mark in the finals on Sunday night at the Stade de France (early Monday in Manila) to bow out of contention for a medal. It was a heartbreaking result for Obiena, who started the final by comfortably clearing the 5.50-m and 5.70-m. He faulted for the first time at 5.80-m and opted to skip his next attempts. Obiena proceeded to clear 5.85-m and 5.90-m, raising hopes that he could make it to the top three. But the Filipino athlete faltered thrice at 5.95-m, gaining good height each time but clipping the bar on his way down. It is still an improvement from his 11th place finish in the Tokyo Games in 2021, but an Olympic medal remains elusive for Obiena. Sweden's Armand Duplantis lived up to expectations by retaining the gold medal in record-breaking fashion. "Mondo" easily cleared 5.70-m, 5.85-m, 5.95-m, and was the only vaulter to clear the six-meter mark in the final. He proceeded to shatter the old Olympic record of 6.03-m, set by Brazil's Thiago Braz in Rio de Janeiro 2016, as he soared over the bar at 6.10-m.
