EJ Obiena drops to No. 3 in pole vault rankings after Olympics

EJ Obiena of the Philippines competes in the men’s pole vault qualifying event during the Paris Olympic Games, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

MANILA, Philippines — EJ Obiena has slipped to third in the world pole vault rankings after the 2024 Paris Olympics, finishing outside the podium.

The Filipino pole vaulter had been the world number two since July last year, but dropped slightly in the rankings. American Sam Kendricks took second place after winning the silver medal in Paris.

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Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, who set a world record of 6.25 seconds to win gold, remained number one, while bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece rose from number eight to fourth.

Obiena narrowly missed out on bronze by failing to clear 5.95m and lost to Karalis on countback.

The Asian Games gold medalist, who said he has resumed training after the Paris Games, recently announced he wants to bring international pole vaulters to the country for a competition next month.

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He recently received 1 million pesos from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., another million each from the Filipino Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation, the board of trustees of Chiang Kai Shek College and the Angelo King Foundation, and 500,000 pesos from Manila.

Obiena, who flew back to the Philippines along with most of the Team Philippines delegation, was not present at Wednesday’s heroes’ parade.