A SEASON-BEST vault was not enough to earn a medal as Thomasian pole vault star EJ Obiena finished fourth in his debut at the Fly Athens Street Pole Vault Championships debut after clearing 5.81 meters in Greece on Monday, July 6.
The two-time Olympian matched the bronze-medal height but lost out on a countback to hometown favorite Emmanouil Karalis who claimed third place after clearing the 5.81 meters mark.
Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Chris Nilsen of the United States claimed the title over France’s Thibaut Collet via countback after both athletes cleared 5.91 meters.
Obiena opened his campaign at 5.41 meters, which he cleared on his first attempt, before needing two tries to get over 5.61 meters. He then cleared 5.71 meters and sailed over 5.81 meters on his opening attempt to stay in podium contention.
Seeking a podium finish, Obiena raised the bar to 5.91 meters but failed to clear the height in all three attempts.
The Fly Athens meet marked Obiena’s first appearance in the Continental Tour Silver event, and featured one of the strongest fields of his outdoor season, including World No. 2 Karalis, Nilsen, and two-time Olympic medalist Renaud Lavillenie.
“Thanks for having me. @harryskaralis I guess I’m staying,” Obiena wrote in his social media story.
The event also carried personal significance to the Filipino vaulter, as it was his first competition in Athens, his new training base after relocating from Formia, Italy earlier this year.
Organized by Karalis, the meet also marked Obiena’s first competitive appearance alongside his new daily training partner under Polish coach Marcin Szczepański.
Despite missing the podium, Obiena registered a new outdoor season best and continued his encouraging run after winning back-to-back titles at the Czesław Cybulski Memorial in Poland and the Raiffeisen Austrian Open in Austria.
Obiena will continue his buildup toward the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September, where he is set to defend his continental title. F
