MANILA, Philippines – Can Team Philippines win five medals in a single Olympics for the first time in history?
That will be determined on Tuesday, August 6, as pole vault star EJ Obiena eyes redemption for the country in the Paris Games after a stellar weekend that saw gymnastics ace Carlos Yulo capture a pair of gold medals.
Here is Team Philippines’ schedule (Manila time):
- 1 am – EJ Obiena | athletics, men’s pole vault, final
- 4:50 pm – John Cabang Tolentino | athletics, men’s 110m hurdles, repechage
Obiena comes up short
EJ Obiena falls short of a prized medal in the Paris Olympics as he finishes fourth in the men’s pole vault final.
Obiena fails to clear 5.95m as he misses out on becoming the Philippines’ first Olympic medalist in athletics since Miguel White (men’s 400m hurdles) won bronze in the 1936 Berlin Games.
Obiena in peril
EJ Obiena on the brink of elimination as his second attempt at 5.95m still ends up unsuccessful.
Last five pole vaulters
EJ Obiena almost clears 5.95m but he hits the bar on his way down.
Two more tries for Obiena as the field gets trimmed to five pole vaulters after the elimination of Australia’s Kurtis Marschall.
Obiena in top six
An ecstatic EJ Obiena pounds his chest after clearing 5.90m in a single attempt.
Obiena now in the top six as Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen gets eliminated at 5.95m.
Obiena back in the hunt
EJ Obiena secures a top-eight finish as he leaps past the 5.85m bar.
Obiena improves on his 11th-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics, with a medal still in sight.
Obiena skips failed height
EJ Obiena decides to skip 5.80m as he gets two attempts at 5.85m.
Only 10 pole vaulters remain as the Netherlands’ Menno Vloon and Latvia’s Valters Kreiss get the boot.
First foul for Obiena
EJ Obiena hits the 5.80m bar on his way down on his first attempt.
He has two more tries to stay in the hunt.
Another clearance for Obiena
EJ Obiena stays perfect as he vaults past 5.70m in a single attempt.
Armand Duplantis finally joins the action, clearing the height with relative ease. Up next is 5.80m.
Obiena surpasses first bar
EJ Obiena clears the opening height of 5.50m to get his medal bid going.
Defending champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden decides to skip. All the other 10 vaulters are through to the next height as well.
Preview
Looking to bounce back from his 11th-place finish in the Tokyo Games three years ago, Obiena aims to challenge defending champion and world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden in the men’s pole vault final.
Obiena, who is ranked second in the world behind Duplantis, finished the qualification at seventh after overcoming a nerve-racking start.
Also seeing action on Tuesday is John Cabang Tolentino as he seeks to reach the men’s 110m hurdles semifinals through the repechage.
The Philippines is already guaranteed four medals after boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas assured themselves of at least a bronze after barging into the semifinals of their respective weight classes. – Rappler.com