(UPDATE) POLE vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena resumed his Paris Olympics build-up by capturing the gold medal in the Los Angeles Grand Prix at the Drake Stadium on May 19.
The first Filipino Paris Games qualifier cleared 5.80 meters to rule the competition and claim his third championship out of four tournaments he joined this year.
Obiena bested Norway’s Simen Guttormsen and home bet KC Lightfoot, who both cleared 5.70 m.
Guttormsen defeated Lightfoot via countback (fewer attempts) to claim the silver medal, while the latter settled for bronze.
Obiena skipped 5.30 m and then aced 5.45 and 5.60 in just one try each before finding a bit of trouble at 5.70, where he needed two attempts to clear.
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The 28-year-old went on to be the lone athlete in the eight-player field to have surpassed 5.80 m for his third gold of the year.
Obiena claimed the first of his three golds at the Memorial Josip Gasparac in Croatia with a 5.83 m clearance and the second at ISTAF Indoor in Berlin, Germany, with a 5.93 m jump. Both tournaments were held in February.
Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines clears the bar in the men’s pole vault during the 2024 USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix at UCLA’s Drake Stadium on May 18, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. PHOTO BY KATHARINE LOTZE/GETTY IMAGES/AFP
Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines clears the bar in the men’s pole vault during the 2024 USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix at UCLA’s Drake Stadium on May 18, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. PHOTO BY KATHARINE LOTZE/GETTY IMAGES/AFP
The following month, Obiena could only place ninth at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, where his best clearance was just 5.65 m.
Meanwhile, Filipino American Lauren Hoffman finished fifth at the LA Grand Prix’s women’s 400 m hurdles with a time of 55.84 seconds, practically a second short of hitting the Olympic qualification standard of 54.85.
Home bet Anna Cockrell bagged the gold medal with a time of 53.75 seconds, while Jamaica’s Andrenette Knight (54.69) and another American, Cassandra Tate (55.02), snared the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
For Hoffman to make the Paris Games, she needs to hit the Olympic qualification standard on or before the deadline of June 30.
The other path is for her to barge into the top 16 of the rankings of her event, where she is currently 28th.
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