EJ Obiena asks for prayers a day before Tokyo pole vault finals

EJ Obiena is asking for prayers before he steps onto the final stage of his Tokyo Olympics bid.

The Filipino pole vault ace will compete on August 3, Tuesday, at 6:20 p.m. in hopes to finish in the podium and hike the country's medal tally in the Summer Games.

"Pole vault finals happening tomorrow Aug 3 at 6:20pm Philippine time. Once again, I am asking for your prayers while I go against the world's best. I rest it all to You, Lord," Obiena posted on Facebook on Monday.

It will be a tough road for the 25-year-old athlete.

Tipped to be strong contenders for a medal are Armand Duplantis of Sweden, Thiago Braz of Brazil, Piotr Lisek of Poland, and Renaud Lavillenie of France--all of whom are inside the top 10 of world rankings. 

Obiena, though, is proving to have a shot at a medal as he is currently ranked no. 6 in the world with a personal best record of 5.87m.

In the qualification round last Saturday, Obiena cleared the 5.75-meter mark to officially qualify for the medal round.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News