Obiena rues missed jump attempt

Ernest John Obiena has apologized for falling short of a podium finish in the men's pole vault final in the Paris Olympics early Tuesday (Manila time).

Obiena acknowledged that while he performed better than in his Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2021, it's still painful not to have clinched a medal.

"I apologize. I promised I'm going to go back after Tokyo and do better. I did, but it wasn't really, I would say, it didn't change in my book," an emotional Obiena said in an interview with One Sports.

"I came up short. So I'm really sorry. I apologize for it."

Obiena finished in fourth place after clearing 5.90 meters, but was unable to surpass 5.95m, allowing Emmanouil Karalis of Greece to take a spot in the podium via countback.

Obiena mentioned that the. pain of missing the podium would take time to subside.

"I'm thankful that I got to the final, definitely. But at the same time, I'm disappointed because it wasn't far," Obiena said.

"I've done everything I can to be where I'm at. I'm proud of the effort of my team, myself, and everybody who made this possible. Yeah, but it doesn't make it less painful."