Ernest John Obiena is back in action, looking to come up with a strong performance that will soothe the pain created by his botched mission in the Paris Olympics.
Gaining redemption will be the main objective when the Filipino pole vaulter competes in the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League past midnight on Thursday at the Pontaise Olympic Stadium in the Swiss capital.
Obiena, who slid to world No. 3 following a fourth-place finish in the Summer Games, will be stacked against a galaxy of stars in this prestigious event that starts at 12 midnight.
He will be in the same field as world record-holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden, Sam Kendricks of the United States and Emmanouil Karalis of Greece, who dominated the medal podium of the Olympics.
Duplantis, for one, turned the Summer Games into his own show after soaring to a record-breaking 6.25 meters while Kendricks posted 5.95 meters for the silver medal and Karalis emerged with 5.90 meters.
Obiena also notched 5.90 meters but he settled for fourth for having more attempts that the Greek rising star.
Also competing will be Americans Jacob Wooten and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Christopher Nilsen as well as London Olympics champion Renaud Lavillenie of France.
Rounding out the 11-athlete field are Thibaut Collet of France, Sondre Guttormsen of Norway, Valentin Imsand of Switzerland and Kurtis Marschall of Australia.
Obiena said he is determined to restore his shattered pride by coming up with an impressive performance in the Diamond League.
In fact, he had to beg off from joining some events of Filipino Olympians as he had to fly back to Europe to prepare for the Diamond League.
“I am sorry I wasn’t in the parade,” he said in a social media post.
“But as you know my season isn’t over and there are upcoming competitions that I will compete in.”
Obiena is currently in fourth place with 14 points after competing in the Stockholm, Oslo, and Paris legs of the Diamond League. A strong performance in Lausanne will keep him in the top eight that will compete in the final in Brussels from 13 to 14 September.