Obiena competes in Polish meet

Italy-based pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena returns to action as he competes in the Silesia leg of the Diamond League at the Silesian Stadium on Sunday in Chorzow, Poland.

Competition starts at 9:34 p.m. (Manila time) as Obiena hopes to turn in another good performance in the biggest athletics league in the world.

Back at the Lausanne leg of Diamond League last Thursday, the two-time Olympian finished at joint third place after he, Sondre Guttormsen of Norway, and Kurtis Marschall of Australia both got over 5.82 meters.

Currently, Obiena sits at third place in the overall rankings with 20 points after competing in four legs.

The 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalist needs to rack up points in order to join the Diamond League final in Brussels from 13 to 14 September as one of the top eight pole vaulters after eight legs.

Also bannering the 11-man tournament is Paris Olympics gold medalist and world champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden as well as silver medalist Sam Kendricks of the United States and bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece.

Marschall also joins in the tournament along with American entries Christopher Nilsen and KC Lightfoot.

Rounding up the competitors are Thibaut Collet and 2012 London Olympics champion Renaud Vallenie of France and home bets Piotr Lisek and Robert Sobera.

Trained since 2014 by Vitaly Petrov, the Ukrainian mentor responsible for the rise of pole vault legend Sergei Bubka, Obiena wound up fourth overall in Paris after narrowly avoiding being handed the pink slip in the eliminations.

Obiena is hoping to redeem himself when Los Angeles gets the chance to host the Summer Games in 2028.

By that time, Obiena would be 32 years old.