Why EJ Obiena insisted on a re-jump for his final pole vault attempt

EJ Obiena explained what happened during his final attempt at 5.80m of the men's pole vault finals at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday, in which he had to plead his case with game officials.

The world no. 6 pole vaulter said he simply asked for a re-jump since the bar was moving in his first three attempts, which he was unable to clear, putting him on cusp of elimination.

The officials, though, granted Obiena's demand and gave him another shot at a jump but he missed it as well to officially bow out of contention.

"Basically, I asked them to move the standards to 65 when the time was already running. I was telling them I cannot jump if the bar is moving so I said they should have at least paused the time," Obiena told a group of sportswriters in a press conference on Wednesday.

"I was arguing a little bit with the Japanese guy at the officiating table and I was saying, 'How do you expect me to jump? You give me a minute to jump which means everything was supposed to be set.'"

Obiena said his re-jump may not have changed the overall result but he said he's glad the officials listened to his points.

"You gave me one minute to jump so that means the whole one minute, there should not be any interruptions for me to be able to jump. That's what I am arguing for," the 25-year-old athlete said.

"It didn't really change the outcome of the competition but I'm thankful that these officials actually listened to my point of view and they did understand," he added.

Obiena was praised on social media for standing up for what he thought was right.

He said that he always does it even in non-Olympic tournaments, believing in the right to fair play.

"I've been raised to be a timid kind of guy but I've always believed that if I truly believe I'm right, I would fight for it," Obiena said.

"That's basically what I did. It just so happened that it's an Olympic final, I think it got the spotlight and it got the attention but I do this every single day."

—MGP, GMA News