Obiena snags silver in 2023 indoor season debut
By Ernest Martin Tuazon
Thomasian pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena kickstarted his 2023 indoor season campaign with a silver-place finish in the 19th Internationale Springermeeting, early Thursday morning (Manila time), in Cottbus, Germany.
After skipping the heights of 5.30m and 5.40m, Obiena needed to shrug off his rust as he utilized all of his three attempts to clear 5.50m.
The Philippine Olympian later on successfully vaulted through 5.67m and 5.77m in one attempt respectively to easily reset the best mark of the current season of 5.72m previously held by Norwegian pole vaulter Pål Haugen Lillefosse.
Only Obiena and American pole vault sensation Sam Kendricks were able to successfully vault through heights higher than 5.72m.
At 5.82m, the benchmark for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Obiena’s last crack at height was close but not quite enough as he brought the bar down with him.
Kendricks eventually ruled the competition with a one-vault clearance through 5.82m, while Obiena snagged silver with a 5.77m season-best, and Belgian athlete Ben Broeders cleared 5.72m to round up the podium.
The 27-year-old Thomasian has yet to release his schedule of tournaments for the remainder of the 2023 indoor season, but his highly-anticipated bout will be at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, from Feb. 10 to Feb. 12.
