EJ Obiena is aiming to get back to winning ways in the Monaco leg of the Diamond League

Filipino pole vault icon EJ Obiena has fully recovered from various aches and pains and is aiming to go all out to reclaim his world No. 2 ranking in the upcoming Monaco leg of the Diamond League.

Obiena has not been at his best in the 2025 outdoor season, delivering a series of underwhelming performances, including a seventh-place finish in the first leg of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League at the Egret Stadium in Xiamen, China. He easily cleared the initial height of 5.42 meters and then made 5.62 meters on his second attempt. However, he failed to clear 5.72 meters in three tries, which ultimately saw him finish seventh among 11 world-class pole vaulters.

The 29-year-old admitted in a media interaction that he is in a better mental space and feeling much improved heading into the Monaco leg of the Diamond League.

Sock game: 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞. 🧦🔥

EJ Obiena rocked socks with coach Vitaly Petrov’s face during the men’s pole vault final at Paris 2024! 😁 pic.twitter.com/IteNf1xaRC

— Olympic Khel (@OlympicKhel) July 9, 2025

“I feel good. I’m finally getting into the rhythm of things. Finally got that throw out of the way and hopefully start jumping where I believe I could be. I’m being brutally honest—I don’t think I’m where I used to be, but I’m definitely headed in the right direction. So, it’s a good opportunity to test where I’m at,” Obiena said.

Obiena was once ranked No. 2 in the world, but poor performances have allowed the likes of Emmanouil Karalis and Sam Kendricks to leapfrog him in the rankings, while reigning world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden remains on top.

A strong performance in Monaco would earn Obiena valuable points in the Diamond League, whose finals will take place on July 27 and 28 in Zurich. However, he faces tough competition from Kendricks and KC Lightfoot of the United States, Greece’s Karalis, Australia’s Kurtis Marschall, Belgium’s Ben Broeders, the Netherlands’ Menno Vloon, France’s Thibaut Collet, and 2012 Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie.

Obiena’s event in the Monaco leg of the Diamond League will take place on Saturday, July 12 (Philippine Standard Time).

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