EJ Obiena exits pole vault qualification round in World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan

WITH pole vault ace EJ Obiena’s shocking exit in the qualification round, the role of flag carrier in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo now solely falls on hurdler Robyn Brown.

Fil-Am Brown, the 2023 Asian champion, hits the Japan National Stadium on Monday for the women’s 400m hurdles preliminaries, seeking a place in the semifinal round.

Her objective is to finish in the Top 4 of Heat 1 to qualify to Wednesday’s semis outright, or at the very least submit a strong clocking that will give her a fighting shot at the other semis tickets to be awarded to competitors with the four fastest times across the five heats.

But it’s going to be a tough task for Ms. Brown, who at No. 63 is the lowest-ranked bet in the nine-athlete opening heat firing off 10:20 a.m. (Manila time).

That field is led by Femke Bol of the Netherlands, the top-ranked hurdler who won the gold medal in the 2023 world meet and back-to-back bronze in the Tokyo and Paris Olympics.

There’s also No. 13 Ayomide Folorunso of Italy, sixth placer in 2023 worlds; No. 15 Naomi Van den Broeck of Belgium, semifinalist in the Paris Olympiad; No. 25 Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain, the Asian record-holder (53.09) who placed fourth in the 2023 worlds; and No. 26 Rogail Joseph of South Africa, the reigning African champion.

Additionally, Ms. Brown also has to contend with No. 37 Alanah Yukich of Australia, No. 39 Hilla Uusimaki of Finland and No. 42 Michelle Smith of the US Virgin Islands in the initial stage of the competition.

The 31-year-old Pinay is left to carry the fight after world No. 7 pole vaulter Mr. Obiena missed the cut for the 12-man finale on Saturday. Mr. Obiena, silver medalist in the 2023 worlds, placed 18th overall in the qualifications with a disappointing vault of 5.55 meters. Swedish titan Armand Duplantis led the cast of finalists who logged identical 5.75m marks during the preliminaries. — Olmin Leyba