Obiena resets national record, takes 2nd place finish in Paris tilt

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 8:56 a.m.) — It's a new national record for pole vaulter EJ Obiena after he reset his own personal best en route to a second place finish in the Paris Diamond League on Saturday (early Sunday, Manila time).

Just his second competition after an 11th place finish in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Obiena cleared 5.91m in Paris.

This shattered his previous national record mark of 5.87m he cleared in Poland last June.

Obiena only needed one attempt to successfully clear the height.

The 25-year-old finished behind 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and world record holder Armand Duplantis who cleared 6.01m for first place in the leg.

Obiena tried to up the ante as well and attempt 5.96m twice then 6.01m on his last try, but would fail letting Duplantis take the top spot.

Christopher Nilsen, who took the silver medal in Tokyo, finished third with 5.81m.

Sam Kendricks, who missed the Tokyo Olympics due to COVID-19, finished fourth after registering a best clearance of 5.73m.

With the second place finish, Obiena inches closer to qualifying for the Wanda Diamond League Final set in Zurich on September 8 and 9.

He has one more leg to compete in on September 3 in Brussels to book a slot in the Final event.