EJ bids for follow-up to Monaco showing

MANILA, Philippines — EJ Obiena seeks to ride the crest of his solid performance in the IAAF Diamond League in Monaco as he vaults back to action in virtual meet “Who is the Finest Pole Vaulter in the World?” tonight.

With high morale after a historic bronze-medal feat against a powerhouse cast headed by reigning world record-holder and eventual winner Armand Duplantis of Sweden Saturday, the 24-year-old Obiena competes this time versus fellow Tokyo qualifiers Pavel Wojciechowski of Poland and Matt Ludwig of the United States.

Obiena, now ranked 16th in the world, said organizers are also lining up a “mystery competitor” to make the meet more interesting.

He cleared 5.70m in Monaco and rued missing 5.80.

“I could have jumped 5.80m in Monaco,” said Obiena, who has traveled back to Formia, Italy where he has trained almost the whole year. “Physically I’m there but mentally, when it mattered, my mind just went full blank.”