After clearing the Olympic standard, Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena has booked his ticket to Paris!
Rejoice, Filipino sports fans! The Philippines has its first representative for the Paris 2024 Olympics: EJ Obiena.
The World No. 3 pole vaulter has become the first Filipino to secure a slot for the upcoming Paris Olympics after he cleared the qualifying benchmark of 5.82 meters in the Stockholm Diamond League-Bauhaus Galan in Sweden on Monday morning, July 3 (Philippine time).
Obiena drew a foul in his first attempt to clear 5.82 meters. But, he managed to successfully overcome the Olympic qualifying standard on his second go, granting him a silver medal finish in the tournament behind world record holder Armand Duplantis.
Securing his ticket to Paris, EJ Obiena will get the chance to improve his 11th-place finish in Tokyo and to fight for his dream: to win an Olympic medal for the Philippines.
But EJ was not the only athlete to qualify for the Paris Olympics in Stockholm. The reigning Olympic champion Armand Duplantis also booked a slot in the upcoming Summer Games by clearing the 5.82-meter standard. On top of this, he also jumped 6.05 meters to win the gold medal in the Swedish tournament.
The other Olympic Qualifiers from the Diamond League-Bauhaus Galan include Pål Haugen Lillefosse from Norway and Ben Broeders from Belgium.
Looking back to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, EJ Obiena also became the first Filipino to qualify for the Games. Who do you think the next one will be?
Banner image from Ernest Obiena on Instagram.
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