EJ Obiena flaunts season-best outing to finish 4th in Greece tilt

Filipino star EJ Obiena posted his best performance of the season, finishing fourth in the Fly Athens Street Pole Vault late Sunday at the Panathenaic Stadium in Greece.

The 30-year-old Philippine bet cleared 5.81 meters to finish just outside the podium, marking his best clearance this year following his back-to-back titles in Poland and Austria competitions.

Obiena, now ranked No. 14 in the world, cleared all his attempted heights—5.41m, 5.61m, 5.71m, and 5.81m—ending in a five-way logjam with hometown bet Emmanouil Karalis, Netherlands' Menno Vloon, Turkey's Ersu Sasma, and France's Baptiste Thiery.

But Karalis, the 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medalist, took the third spot due to countback as Obiena settled for a fourth place.

American pole vaulter Chris Nilsen took the top honors after clearing 5.91 meters while French ace Thibaut Collet seized the silver plum with a 5.91m finish as well.

"I have not seen you 5.80m bar in awhile… I have missed you," Obiena said in an Instagram post.

"I have vaulted in lots of different venues but this is just pure picturesque. Vaulting in-front of the Panathenaic stadium is a day to remember. Thank you very much for having me."

The last time Obiena came close to matching that performance was in 2025, when he cleared 5.80 meters in front of a home crowd to capture the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge title.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News