EJ Obiena reigned supreme in the Brussels Diamond League, defeating world record holder Mondo Duplantis, for his third straight golden finish in five events.
Filipino vaulter EJ Obiena scored a huge upset over Olympic champion and world record holder Mondo Duplantis to finish in first place in the Brussels Diamond League in Belgium on Friday, September 2 (Saturday, September 3, Manila time).
Obiena and Duplantis were the last pole vaulters left after the 5.81m mark, both committing two fouls each trying to clear 5.91m, before EJ had a clear attempt on his third jump, while Duplantis still knocked off the bar on his third attempt.
“Made a core memory today,” Obiena wrote in a social media post as he clinched his first Wanda Diamond League meet victory.
Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Chris Nilsen was also in contention but settled for bronze via a countback after clearing 5.71m together with Netherlands’ Rutger Koppelaar and 2016 Rio Olympics champion Thiago Braz of Brazil.
This feat was Obiena’s third straight championship and fifth consecutive podium finish since he started his second season in the European circuit two weeks ago.
EJ successfully topped the True Athletes Classics in Leverkusen last Aug. 28 and the St. Wendel City Jump in Sankt Wendel on Aug. 31, while he finished bronze in the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland last Aug. 25.
Meanwhile, this ends Duplantis’ streak of winning the gold for 20 straight events, including the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, USA where he jumped a world record of 6.21m.
"I did a lot of things poorly technically. It's rare for me to jump the way I did. Maybe I needed a bit of a wake-up call. I gotta come back next year and do something more special for the people that came out," said Duplantis.
Even with this triumph, Obiena will continue seeking for more wins as he is set to compete in the ISTAF 2022 in Berlin, Germany on Sunday, Sept. 4, before heading to Schaan, Liechtenstein on Sept. 11 for the Golden Fly event to end his second season.
Tags: #polevault, #olympics, #athletics