MANILA, Philippines – EJ Obiena got back to his medal ways despite another pole misfortune.

Obiena tied for silver in the Oslo Bislett Games in Norway even after he broke one of his poles again on Thursday, May 30 (Friday, May 31, Manila time).

Fresh from a seventh-place finish in the Ostrava Golden Spike in Czech Republic where one of his poles snapped on competition day, Obiena bounced back and cleared 5.72m for joint second with Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis.

American record holder KC Lightfoot topped the nine-man field with 5.82m.

Obiena pulled through in the Oslo leg of the Diamond League as he received a helping hand from Lightfoot and Menno Vloon of the Netherlands.

With the silver in Oslo, Obiena has won medals in two of his first three events of the outdoor season as he bagged gold in the Los Angeles Grand Prix earlier this May.

“Thanks to [Vloon] and [Lightfoot] for lending me poles to jump on. Greatly appreciate it gentleman,” Obiena wrote on his social media accounts.

Sam Kendricks of the United States, Bo Kanda Lita Baehre of Germany, and Vloon also recorded 5.72m but settled for fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively, due to countback.

Obiena heads to Stockholm, Sweden, to compete in the BAUHAUS-galan on Sunday, June 2, hoping to find a new pole.

“Now we try to look for poles to use,” Obiena said. – Rappler.com