Filipino pole-vault star Ernest John Obiena copped the silver and finished behind gold medalist and world record-holder Armand Duplantis, who is the pinnacle of the finest pole vaulters around the globe. 

Duplantis topped the charts with his 6.10 meters finish to secure the title of the tournament and was hailed as the gold standard in the World Athletics Continental Tour while Obiena marked with 5.80 meters, just 0.01 from his personal best and the qualifying games he set in Italy in 2019. 

“I improved the jump to 5.80 for a silver medal. I am doing my best for a better performance and I still need a lot of things to work on,” Obiena said. 

The Southeast Asian Games gold medalist tried to overshadow his personal best at the 5.86 mark but he failed on all three to settle for his final height in the fourth. 

While Dutchman and hometown bet Menno Vloon cleared on the same height with Obiena but settled for the bronze via the countback.

Duplantis attempted to outdo his existing world record with a 6.19-meter jump but failed to do so. Nonetheless, the Sweden exceeded the new world-leading mark to 6.10-meter. 

This was Obiena’s second outdoor tournament where he has three more outdoor meets for the continuation of his build-up for the Tokyo Olympics scheduled July 23 to Aug. 8.