EJ Obiena soars to new season best, claims Diamond League medal anew

EJ Obiena set his new personal best for 2020 in Rome.
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--EJ Obiena reset his best pole vault stunt for the year as he once again made the podium in the Rome leg of the IAAF Diamond League early Friday (Philippine Time).

The Filipino star once again breached the 5.8-meter mark in his latest stint en rout to capturing the bronze medal.

He broke his previous season best of 5.74 meters that he cleared en route to a gold in Ostrava, Czech Republic last week.

[Related Story: EJ Obiena wins gold in Ostrava pole vault meet]

Obiena tried to set a new Southeast Asian record by going for 5.85 meters, but he failed to clear the height.

Belgium's Ben Broeders also cleared 5.8 meters in his own performance, but he clinched the count-back tiebreaker over Obiena to take the silver.

Meanwhile, Armand Duplantis of Sweden once again showed why he is pole vault's top guy right now after setting a new Diamond League record of 6.15 meters to win it all.

The three medal winners are expected to be in Doha for the next leg of the Diamond League on Thursday.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno_