Ernest John Obiena matched his season-best clearance of 5.81 meters but missed the podium in the Fly Athens street pole vault tournament at the Panathenaic Stadium in Greece on Monday.

Obiena, 30, cleared the bar on his first attempt but narrowly missed a top-three finish as hometown favorite Emmanouil Karalis also cleared 5.81m and claimed the bronze medal via countback.

It was déjà vu for Obiena, who also fell short to Karalis via countback at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where both athletes cleared 5.90m but the Greek pride secured the bronze medal.

Despite missing the podium, Obiena is happy with the progress he is achieving in the outdoor season.

“Reached 5.81m here in Fly Athens. A truly wonderful competition organised by Manolo (Karalis) and family,” Obiena said.

“I have vaulted in lots of different venues but this is just pure picturesque. Vaulting in-front of the Panathenaic Stadium is a day to remember. Thank you very much for having me.”

Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Christopher Nilsen of the United States defeated France's Thibaut Collet via countback after both cleared 5.91m.

Prior to the tournament, Obiena had already captured two gold medals in separate meets.

He first ruled the Memoriał Czesława Cybulskiego in Poland last June after clearing 5.72m.

Obiena then set a new meet record of 5.75m to win the Raiffeisen Austrian Open in Eisenstadt, Austria, last Thursday.

He is competing across Europe as he prepares to defend his title at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, from 19 September to 4 October.

Obiena's next stop could possibly be the London leg of the Diamond League on 18 July at London Stadium.