EJ Obiena wins silver at Wanda Diamond League final ahead of Asian Games

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 19) — Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena produced a second-place finish at the Wanda Diamond League final on Monday (Manila time), just before heading to the 19th Asian Games.

Obiena cleared 5.82 meters at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon in the United States to extend his streak of podium finishes, behind Sweden's Armand Duplantis who reset the world record anew during the Prefontaine Classic.

Only the two athletes came out successful in the 5.82m, with the Filipino using two attempts versus the Swedish-American's single try.

World no. 1 Duplantis only needed one jump to clear 6.02m while Obiena failed in all of his three attempts.

Duplantis then managed to clear 6.23m in one try – a centimeter higher than the record he logged in Clermont-Ferrard, France in February.

Kurtis Marschall of Australia, as well as Sam Kendricks and Christopher Nilsen of USA failed to clear 5.82m.

Kendricks, a bronze medalist during the 2016 Summer Olympics, secured the third place after vaulting 5.72m in one go.

Obiena, the first Filipino athlete to secure a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is among the favorites to win gold at the Asiad.

He will be the country's flag bearer along with skateboarder Margielyn Didal in the continental meet, which will be held in Hangzhou, China from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8.