EJ Obiena entered the Lausanne Diamond League in Switzerland having won three straight gold medals. He left the competition without making it to the podium.
Obiena, who has been on a hot streak as of late, finished sixth in Switzerland, where two of the sport’s very best—Mondo Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis—put on a show for the gold. The 30-year-old native of Tondo cleared 5.81 meters, as did Zachery Bradford, Sam Kendricks, and KC Lightfoot. But Obiena finished sixth overall via countback.
The two-time Olympian attempted to clear 5.91 meters but failed in all three tries. That height, incidentally, was good enough for bronze, with Australia’s Kurtis Marschall earning it in the end by beating out Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen and the United States’ Christopher Nilsen.
Duplantis, Karalis Put on a Show for Gold
Gold and silver went to Duplantis and Karalis, respectively. Both men beat the competition record of 6.15 meters, which Duplantis himself set in 2024.
The Swedish sensation then cleared 6.21 meters with relative ease, setting a high bar for Karalis, who is ironically now a training partner of Obiena after the Filipino moved his training to Greece. The Greek pole vaulter tried matching Duplantis’s mark but failed in two tries. He next attempted to clear 6.26 meters but couldn’t quite make it. Duplantis, already assured of gold, tried to go for a world record of 6.32 meters but to no avail.
Obiena’s Setback Still Means Something
While Obiena couldn’t keep his golden streak going or even land a podium, his performance at Lausanne is still encouraging for someone trying to work his way back up to elite level. In his return to the Diamond League, the Filipino pole vaulter showed that he can hang with the sport’s top names, besting world No. 10 Bradford, No. 4 Kendricks, and No. 13 Lightfoot for sixth place.
Notably, Obiena’s season-best of 5.91 meters, which he achieved at the Golden Sand 2026 in Międzyzdroje, Poland, would’ve put him in line for a possible bronze, which was contested by world No. 3 Marschall, No. 5 Guttormsen, and No. 8 Nilsen.
Put simply, EJ Obiena is still pretty good, and he proved that at the Lausanne Diamond League in Switzerland even without winning a medal.
Now, it’s on to the next.
