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.
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 bowed out at 5.95m as he missed out on winning the Philippines’ third straight medal in as many days after Carlos Yulo won two golds over the weekend.
“I learned a long time ago to take one day at a time, and that’s exactly what I am going to do. Thank you again for your support and standing by me. I love you all and we all share a common love and pride for the Philippines,” he said.
“Carlos Yulo has already made this an Olympics to remember and I salute him. I am sorry I didn’t join him on the podium but I will be back. ‘The good get up,’ as they say. I have been knocked down. But I will get back up.”
Improving on his 11th-place finish in the Tokyo Games three years ago, Obiena still gave himself a pat on the back for pulling through despite battling “physical problems” in the lead-up to the Olympics.
“On a positive note, I am proud of what I was actually able to stitch together for this Olympics, with all the struggles that came with this year. But still it hurts to be this close to an Olympic medal,” he said.
“As anyone can imagine the reality is still sinking in and I am processing the outcome.” – Rappler.com
