EJ Obiena places ninth, John Cabang Tolentino falls short in World Indoor Championships

Filipino Olympian pole vaulter EJ Obiena finished ninth at the World Athletics Indoor Championships held in Poland on Sunday (Philippine time).

Obiena cleared 5.50m and 5.70m on his first attempts but was unable to surpass 5.85m.

World record holder Mondo Duplantis of Sweden won the gold medal after clearing 6.25m. Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis took silver with a 6.05m effort, while Australia’s Kurtis Marschall earned bronze at 6.00m.

Meanwhile, Filipino hurdler John Cabang Tolentino missed out on a semifinal berth in the men’s 60m hurdles after clocking 7.77 seconds, finishing fourth in his heat. Jamaica’s Demario Prince topped the heat with 7.58 seconds, followed by Italy’s Lorenzo Simonelli (7.65) and the Czech Republic’s Jonas Kolomaznik (7.72), who all advanced to the next round. Poland’s Jakub Szymanski eventually claimed the gold medal in the event.

In the women’s 60m, Jessica Laurance also failed to advance to the semifinals after placing sixth in her heat with a time of 7.37 seconds. Fellow Filipina Zion Corrales-Nelson finished seventh in her heat, clocking 7.44 seconds.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News