EJ Obiena ended his campaign in the Diamond League with a fourth-place finish off a 5.83-meter clearance, Friday (Manila time) at the Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland.
The current top Asian pole vaulter had attempts for an outright new Asian record of 5.93 meters, but could not make it after three. Nonetheless, he managed to end the final as he was seeded fourth after clearing 5.83 on his second try.
Obiena pocketed $4,000 in the final, alongside his earnings from the several legs prior.
The 25-year-old standout edged out Americans Christopher Nilsen and KC Lightfoot both. The two needed to exhaust all allowable attempts just to clear 5.83 meters. All three, however, eventually exited the competition at the next height.
Taking his place in history, Armand Duplantis added the Diamond League trophy to his Olympic gold after a new meet record of 6.06 meters in the final. The young Swede once more flirted with a new world record, but his three attempts went begging. However, he once more reigned supreme with an additional $30,000 (P1,498,065) to boot.
Sam Kendricks finished in second place ahead of a very capable substitute in Timur Morgunov, who ended in third. The American tried for 6.03 after skipping 5.93, which the Russian failed to clear in his three tries.
