EJ Obiena cleared a height above-5.80 meters for the fifth consecutive competition. He finished in fourth place at the Stockholm leg of the 2021 Wanda Diamond League series at the Olympic Stadium in Sweden, Sunday.
The 25-year old missed the podium for the first time this outdoor season, but a clearance above the 5.90 mark was not farfetched.
Obiena settled for fourth place after his three attempts at 5.92 — the Asian record for the event — went begging. This, even as Frenchman Renaud Lavellenie cleared the said height on his second attempt.
Sam Kendricks of the USA took the silver medal with 5.92 ahead of Lavellenie on countback. The latter registered 5.62 on his third and final attempt.
Hometown bet Armand Duplatis tried to erase his existent world record of 6.15 in front of his compatriots. However, after a close call in the first attempt, the Swede could not get over the bar in the next two tries.
Duplantis, nonetheless, bagged the gold with a new meet record of 6.02.
Obiena earlier zoomed into medal contention after that Lavellenie miss of 5.62, which he took on his first attempt. But Lavellenie completed the podium when he scored 5.92 on his second attempt — ahead of the Filipino.
Obiena will next compete in another tournament, before he sets for Tokyo for the Summer Games.
