Obiena essays ‘fairytale finish’

Ernest John Obiena delivered his promise, putting on a show en route to a golden performance in the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge on a rainy Sunday afternoon at the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati City.

After blowing cold in his past couple of events, Obiena displayed his impressive form as he matched his season-best 5.80 meters to clinch the gold medal in the first ever staging of this street-style vaulting event that is sanctioned by the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association and World Athletics.

With a good-sized crowd egging him on, the 29-year-old Obiena cleared 5.80 meters on his second attempt to edge French powerhouse Thibaut Collet via countback that gave him his first title in nearly four months — or since he defended his throne in the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea in May.

Collet, the No. 12 in the world, also notched 5.80 meters but settled for the silver medal after needing three tries while world No. 15 Piotr Lisek of Poland claimed the bronze medal with 5.60 meters.

Filipino standout Hokett Delos Santos also competed after earning a wildcard entry following his victory in the National Pole Vault Competition last Saturday.

The University of Santo Tomas product, however, was given a “No Mark” for failing to clear 4.90 meters in three attempts.

“The crowd pushed me to the edge and I was able to give my best performance of the season. I think this is one of the best jumps I had this year,” said Obiena, who tallied his season best 5.80 meters at the Meeting Madrid in Spain last July.

“A fairytale finish, I would say.”

Collet, a seasoned international campaigner from the French city of La Tronche, was also surprised by the massive weekend crowd that showed up to witness the Filipino superstar in action despite the gloomy weather and the nationwide rallies around the metro.

“I tried to take a bit of time off in between my jumps because I was tired,” the 26-year-old Collet said.

“We all know what it is to have a big, big atmosphere around us. But today in particular was beautiful and amazing.”

Even Piotr Lisek enjoyed the presence of the Filipino fans, who obviously enjoyed their experience watching a street-style vaulting event right in the heart of the central business district.

“The crowd was amazing. It was a pure pleasure to be here and compete with these handsome guys,” Lisek said.

“Everybody was 100 percent professional, so I’m glad to be here. Thank you so much.”

World No. 5 Ersu Sasma of Turkey grabbed the fourth place over Matt Ludwig of the United States via countback even though they both posted 5.45 meters.

Oleg Zernikel of Germany secured the sixth place over American pole vaulter Austin Miller also via countback after both cleared 5.30 meters.

Menno Vloon of the Netherlands, meanwhile, joined Delos Santos in posting a “No Mark” after failing to clear 5.30 meters while Ben Broeders did not start in the tournament.