EJ Obiena picks up his 6th medal in the current pole vault season. Screengrab from Diamond League video via Philippine Athletics.
JUST IN: Filipino champion pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena again delivered an Olympics standard high jump while winning a bronze medal at the 2020 Rome Diamond League.

The Philippines’ Tokyo Olympics gold medal hope cleared 5.80 meters to finish in 3rd place at the Diamond League’s Rome edition streamed live on YouTube in the early hours of September 18, 2020 (Philippine Time).

The 6-foot-1 national athlete secured the bronze after 3 attempts to clear the bar, behind Belgium’s Ben Broeders who also cleared 5.80 meters with only two attempts.

The medal is Obiena’s 6th in the current season. The Filipino champion has already notched one gold, two silvers, and three bronzes.

The new record is also Obiena’s season-best and comes after his recent bronze at the Poznań Athletics Grand Prix in Poland where he cleared 5.52 meters and his first gold of the season at the 59th Ostrava Golden Spike tilt held in the Czech Republic where he cleared 5.74 meters.

EJ Obiena qualified for the Olympics in September 2019 after he cleared 5.81 meters in the Men’s Pole Vault competition of the Salto Con L’asta In Piazza Chiari in Italy.

EJ Obiena has been training in Italy in preparation for the Olympics that has been rescheduled to 2021 amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has restricted and delayed sporting events around the world.

The Filipino pole vaulter gave the Philippines its first medal at the Diamond League in Monaco last August.

He will next compete at the Doha Diamond League on September 24.