Philippines' Ernest John Obiena reacts as he competes in the men's pole vault qualification of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 3, 2024. Kirill Kudryavtsev, AFP

EJ Obiena had to overcome a start to keep his medal hopes in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games alive.

The 28-year-old Filipino star advanced to the men's pole vault finals in athletics after reaching the Top 12 of the qualifiers on Saturday (Manila time) at the Stade de France.

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After a seemingly uncharacteristic performance in his first two attempts, Obiena rediscovered his form and cleared 5.75-m to reach the final round. 

He is now set to compete in the medal round on August 6, 1 a.m., as he looks to surpass his 11th-place finish in the 2021 Tokyo Games.

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Obiena had opted to pass on the first height of 5.40-m along with world record-holder Armand Duplantis of Swede and Greece's Emmanouil Karalis.

His first jump came at 5.60-m, but Obiena hit the bar on his way up. In his second try at the same height,  the Chiang Kai-shek product also fell short of moving past it as his lower limbs hit the bar right when he was at the top of his jump.

But Obiena came through in the clutch, as he skipped his last attempt at 5.60-m before sailing over the bar at 5.70-m.

Another miss would have meant early elimination for Obiena, who is ranked second in the world behind Duplantis.

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Obiena then proceeded to clear 5.75-m in his first attempt.

Obiena was able to advance to the finals round despite the recent developments of him dealing “with physical problems” ahead of the opening of his event.