Obiena finishes sixth in Lausanne Diamond League topped by Duplantis

The Philippines’ Ernest John Obiena competes in the men’s Pole Vault during the World Athletics Diamond League athletics meeting at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in Lausanne, on August 20, 2026.

(Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — EJ Obiena saw his golden streak broken at the Lausanne Diamond League in Switzerland, where Armand Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis had a breathtaking battle for the gold medal.

The Filipino pole vaulter, going up against the big names of pole vault, finished sixth after tallying 5.81 meters in the meet.

Obiena, who reached 5.91 meters in a gold medal finish in Poland a few days ago, could not replicate his finish this time around.

He needed two attempts at 5.81 meters, and used up all three of his attempts at 5.91 meters, to settle for sixth.

He finished ahead of Zachery Bradford, Sam Kendricks and KC Lightfoot, who all tallied the same 5.81 meters, as well as Baptiste Thiery and Renaud Lavillenie (5.51 meters.)

Before the meet, Obiena ended on top of his three previous tournaments in Poland and Germany. He also had a silver medal in Madrid last month,

But the spotlight of the tournament went to Duplantis and Karalis.

The two were able to beat the previous record of 6.15 meters set by Duplantis in 2024, but it was the Swedish pole vaulter who brought home the win.

This is the first time a second-place finisher broke the previous meet record.

Duplantis tallied 6.21 meters, just in his first attempt, and he missed the mark at 6.32 meters which would have been the world record.

Karalis, on the other hand, flew over 6.01 meters with ease in his first attempt.

After skipping 6.11 meters, he needed two attempts at 6.16 meters to keep himself in the running for the gold.

However, he missed two attempts at 6.21 meters, and as he tried to skip the distance and move to 6.26 meters, he could not clear it.

It is the Greek pole vaulter’s personal best for the outdoor season.

"I'm tired but I feel really good, I feel really happy," said Duplantis.

"That was such an amazing competition, everybody jumped so well, so I felt like I really had to step it up. I'm glad I jumped really well."

Coming in third was Kurtis Marschall with 5.91 meters. Marschall, Sondre Guttormsen and Christopher Nilsen all tallied 5.91 meters, but it was the Australian who needed just one attempt at the previous height of 5.81 meters.

The Norwegian Guttormsen and the American Nilsen needed multiple tries at the distance, as the former needed two attempts, while the latter used up three tries. (With reports from AFP)