Obiena jumps for silver medal in Dusseldorf Eurowings Flight Circus

MAYBE THE CHANGE of atmosphere is what Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena needed to change his floundering fortunes for the better.

And just a few days after tapping a new coach in Pole Marcin Szczepanski and moving camp from Italy to Athens, Greece, Mr. Obiena looked like a renewed athlete.

It was evident in the Southeast Asian and Asian champion’s silver medal finish in the Eurowings Flight Circus in Dusseldorf, Germany where he cleared 5.74 meters (m) on Monday.

American Chris Nilsen, the Tokyo Olympics silver winner, struck gold with a 5.83 m while Qatari Seifeldin Abdesalam snared the bronze with a 5.65 m.

It was an effort that jump started his outdoor campaign where he hoped to reclaim his old place in the world rankings after dropping to No. 13 from as high as No. 2 a few years back.

His last outdoor event came last March in the World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland where he ended up ninth with a 5.70 m.

“Battled through some swirling winds but overall happy how it all went,” he said on his social media account.

Next stop is the Diamond League stop, a stronger one set on Friday in Doha, Qatar where he hopes to sustain the momentum of his Dusseldorf performance. — Joey Villar