Obiena falls short in Hungarian Grand Prix

Ernest John Obiena continued to build momentum for his Asian Games title defense despite missing the podium once again after placing sixth in the Gyulai István Memorial Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix in Budapest on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old Filipino pole vaulter cleared 5.80 meters on his first attempt but was unable to crack the top three in the seven-man field bannered by Swedish superstar Armand Duplantis.

Duplantis, the multiple-time world champion and world record holder, dominated the competition after clearing 6.07m.

Australia’s world No. 3 Kurtis Marschall finished second with a six-meter clearance while Paris Olympic bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece claimed third on countback over Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen after they cleared 5.90m.

Although he missed another podium finish, Obiena drew positives from another consistent performance, marking the second time he has cleared 5.80m this month after posting a season-best 5.81m at the Fly Athens Street Pole Vault competition in Greece on 6 July.

“Got 5.80m in Budapest,” Obiena wrote in a social media post.

The reigning Asian Games record holder is sharpening his form ahead of the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya from 19 September to 4 October, where he will attempt to defend the gold medal he won in Hangzhou in 2023.

Obiena, however, will skip the London Athletics Meet on 18 July his is not in the entry list.

Duplantis, Marschall and Karalis headline the London field, which also includes Olympic silver medalists Sam Kendricks and Chris Nilsen of the United States, former world record holder Renaud Lavillenie of France, Menno Vloon of the Netherlands and home bet Owen Heard.

Obiena is instead expected to return to Diamond League action at the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland on 20 August.