MANILA, Philippines – EJ Obiena calls it the “harshest place to be.” But Obiena vows to be back after a heartbreaking end to his Paris Olympics run as he barely fell short of a medal following a fourth-place finish in the men’s pole vault final. On the cusp of capturing the Philippines’ first Olympic medal in athletics since 1936, Obiena lost the bronze to Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis via countback.
Must Read EJ Obiena sorry for missed chance at Olympic medal: ‘Sports is beautiful but brutal’ Sweden’s Armand Duplantis retained his gold by smashing his own world record, while the USA’s Sam Kendricks bagged silver. “Fourth place is painful to say the least, and in sports with three podium places, perhaps fourth is the harshest place to be,” Obiena wrote on his social media pages on Tuesday, August 6. “I am heartbroken that a single failure cost me and cost a nation I so deeply love the podium.
I apologize for this outcome.” “Such is life as the world of competitive sports can be exhilarating at times and painful at others. I have experienced both, and unfortunately today, I am on the other side of it!” Obiena and Karalis both ended the competition with a clearance of 5.
90m, but the Greek claimed the last podium spot as he hurdled each of the first five heights – including 5.50m, 5.70m, 5.
80m, and 5.85m – in a single attempt. Meanwhile, Obiena committed a foul at 5.
80m. Although Obiena bounced back by clearing 5.85m and 5.
90m both in one go, he .