Obiena fades, settles for 7th in Monaco

Ernest John Obiena’s bid for valuable points suffered a major setback as he failed to make it to the top three of the Monaco leg of the Diamond League on Saturday at the Stade Louis II in Monaco.

The 29-year-old superstar cleared 5.72 meters after three attempts, prompting him to settle for seventh place in one of the biggest and most prestigious athletics events in the world.

Obiena even tried to breach the 5.82-meter barrier but he failed after three attempts.

As expected, world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden was impressive, finishing with 6.05 meters while rising star Emmamouil Karalis of Greece clinched the silver medal over Kurtis Marschal of Australia despite posting a similar clearance of 5.92m.

It was a major blow for the Filipino vaulter as he failed to finish above fifth place in any leg of a Diamond League.

In China, he finished seventh place in Xiamen with 5.62m last 26 April while he registered fifth place in Shanghai after clearing 5.72m last 3 May

Obiena also tallied a “No Mark,” his worst performance in the Diamond League, in the Oslo leg last 12 June after he skipped 5.40m and failed to get over 5.62m.

In the Stockholm leg last 15 June, Obiena settled for seventh place after going over 5.70m.

Still, everything is not yet lost as Obiena will set his sights on the Silesia leg on 16 August at the Silesian Stadium in Poland.

Obiena, who is currently in seventh place in the overall standings, will have to finish strong in the remaining legs to become one of the six finalists who will compete in the final leg in Zurich from 27 to 28 August.