EJ Obiena couldn’t quite find the extra gear when it mattered most at the 2026 World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland, settling for a joint-ninth finish in a competition dominated by Mondo Duplantis.
The Filipino pole vault ace cleared 5.50m and 5.70m without much trouble, but the bar proved unforgiving at 5.85m. Obiena burned all three attempts at that height, effectively ending his campaign earlier than expected and leaving him tied for ninth with Christopher Nilsen.
Duplantis, who recently reset the world record in pole vault, won gold going away. In fact, from 5.50m all the way to 6.25m, Duplantis was untouchable, securing yet another world indoor title with clinical ease. Emmanouil Karalis took silver after a strong 6.05m clearance, while Kurtis Marschall claimed bronze to round out the podium.
Decent But Far from Good Enough for EJ Obiena
It was a performance that felt steady, but not quite enough—especially on a stage where the margins between contenders and champions are razor-thin. And at this level, that difference matters. Results like this, while far from disastrous, may raise quiet questions about whether Obiena consistently belongs in the sport’s absolute top tier.
At the other end of the spectrum, Duplantis once again showed why he stands alone. Fresh off a 6.31m world record just days prior, the Swedish superstar delivered a flawless outing, clearing every height he faced on his first attempt. Karalis and Marschall both cleared 6.00m, while two others—Sondre Guttormsen and Zachery Bradford—cleared 5.95m.
Is EJ Obiena Still Elite?
Once upon a time, EJ Obiena was among the elite of pole vault, vaulting as high as No. 2 in the world in 2023. He was still No. 3 in August 2024, but has since been dropping—gradually at first before sliding to No. 12 this March. To be fair, the Filipino’s decline in recent months is primarily due to a plethora of injuries that have slowed Obiena significantly, both in terms of performance and progress.
This year, Obiena has shown signs of a return to form, but this latest result feels more like an indictment than an indication of progress—at least not yet. At this point, 5.85m, which the 30-year-old two-time Olympian failed to clear in Poland, is widely viewed as the entry gate to a podium finish in elite competition. Obiena’s inability to hit it, while eight others did, might not be the most encouraging of signs. Crucially, he qualified for this Poland meet only after clearing 5.78 at the ISTAF Indoor pole vault competition in Berlin.
Even so, all is not lost for EJ Obiena. He is, after all, still working his way back up, and his ninth-place finish at the 2026 World Indoor Championships might just be a setback before the comeback. To that end, the challenge is clear: bridge that chasm from contender to consistent podium threat—a leap that separates the very good from the truly elite.
