MANILA, Philippines – EJ Obiena came oh so close to ending the Philippines’ 88-year Olympic medal drought in athletics.
Obiena fell short of a podium finish in the Paris Games after placing fourth in the men’s pole vault final at the Stade de France on Monday, August 5 (Tuesday, August 6, Manila time).
Ranked No. 2 in the world and touted as one of the Philippines’ strong medal hopefuls, Obiena failed to clear 5.95m as Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, USA’s Sam Kendricks, and Greece’s Emmanoul Karalis made the top three.
Obiena missed out on becoming the Philippines’ first Olympic medalist in athletics since Miguel White won the men’s 400m hurdles bronze in the 1936 Berlin Games. – Rappler.com