Ernest John Obiena slid to No. 5 in the World Athletics ranking after missing some tournaments where valuable points were at stake.

After spending more than seven months at No. 4, the Filipino pole vault sensation slipped a notch lower after skipping some events in the European circuit, including the last two legs of the Diamond League in Poland and Switzerland.

With that, Obiena will miss the final of the Diamond League in Zurich for the second straight year after failing to generate enough ranking points to catch one of the six spots in the final ranking.

Obiena also missed the Diamond League final last year after he opted to focus on his recovery from a back injury in preparation for a golden conquest in the Paris Olympics.

The last European tournament that Obiena joined was the Stockholm leg of the Diamond League last June, where he posted 5.70 meters to finish in seventh place.

World record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden remains on top of the rankings while rising pole vaulter and Paris Olympics bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece is currently in second place while Sam Kendricks of the United States and Curtis Marschall of Australia are sitting at the third and fourth spots, respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 are Ersu Sasma of Turkey at No. 6, Menno Vloon of the Netherlands at No. 7, former Olympic bronze medalist Christopher Nilsen at No. 8, Sondre Guttormsen of Norway at No. 9, and Bokai Huang of China at No. 10.

Other stars who are out of the top 10 are London Olympics gold medalist Renaud Lavillenie of France (No. 11), Thibaut Collet of France (No. 13), and KC Lightfoot of the US (No. 15).

Obiena, however, still has a chance to boost his ranking as he competes in other outdoor events, including the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on 13 September and the Atletang Ayala Pole Vault Challenge on 20 and 21 September at the Ayala Triangle Garden in Makati City.

The roster of participants has yet to be finalized but Obiena hinted at the possibility of tapping the world’s best pole vault athletes.

“We’re inviting the top pole vaulters. The dates are strategically placed after the world championships so we can expect high-ranking athletes,” Obiena said.

“We’re gonna announce it as the competition dates come closer.”