Obiena still can’t solve Swedish puzzle

What was expected to be a fierce battle between the top two pole vaulters in the world turned into a lopsided affair with Armand Duplantis of Sweden emerging with a gold medal around his neck at the Paris Olympics.

Duplantis blew away the field, breaking the Olympic and world records with an incredible 6.25 meters to defend his title at Stade de France on Tuesday morning.

He became the first back-to-back pole vault champion in the Olympics since American Bob Richards, who won in the 1952 Helsinki Games and in the 1956 Melbourne Games.

Richards and Duplantis are the only vaulters in the world who have two Olympic gold medals.

On the other hand, his main pursuer in the world ranking, Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines, failed to land on the medal podium for the second time in the Olympics. Sam Kendricks of the United States, who missed the Summer Games in Tokyo three years ago due to Covid, grabbed the silver medal with 5.95 meters while Emmanouil Karalis secured the silver with 5.90 meters.

It was an ultimate show of force of the Swedish powerhouse, whose father, Greg, is also a pole vaulter with a personal best of 5.80 meters. Duplantis had won 19 straight international competitions, with his last setback occurring in January 2023 during a Diamond League event in Monaco when he was nursing a hamstring injury.

Obiena took the silver medal in that event, a win that was greatly celebrated by the Filipinos as it gives them hope that the pride of Tondo, Manila might somehow edge Duplantis in the biggest sports event in the world.

But it didn’t happen as the 25-year-old Duplantis was in control from start to finish, hardly standing up to vault in clearances that were out of his league. He only rose from his seat and took the battle seriously when the gold medal was already on the line, en route to breaking the world record of 6.24 meters that he had set in the Xiamen leg of the Diamond League last April.

The crowd erupted in celebration as Duplantis rushed to his parents to give them a tight embrace and receive the Swedish flag that he draped around his body in the awarding ceremonies.

Obiena, meanwhile, quietly walked away and disappeared into the thickness of the jubilant Olympic crowd.

Though he may have failed to solve the Swedish puzzle, he is sure to come back even stronger the next time their paths cross.