THE Philippines’ pole vault sensation EJ Obiena has jumped to No. 6 in the recently-released world athletics rankings.

With two weeks away before the Tokyo Olympics, the 25-year old Obiena, one of the country’s medal hopefuls, is hoping to produce the best performance of his life.

“Pursue your passion and prepare to work hard, real hard. Work continues but this fills me with inspiration and gratitude. Thank you to all who keeps believing, who keeps hope alive in their hearts, who keeps praying to God for His mercy and grace,” Obiena posted on his Facebook page yesterday.

“The Olympics is very near and no one can predict the results, but rest assure that the fighting spirit is very much alive. We will proudly not just represent the Philippines, but fight for its glory. I rest it all to You,” he added.

Obiena climbed from No. 10 after successful campaigns in various international meets where he reset his national outdoor pole vault record twice last June.

But the 6.0-meter mark remains elusive for Obiena, whose personal best currently stands at 5.87.

Sweden’s Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, the world record holder, is on top of the world rankings followed by United States’ Sam Kendricks, Polands’ Piotr Lisek, France’s Renaud Lavillenie and United States’ Christopher Nilsen.

Brazil’s Thiago Braz, Obiena’s training buddy in Italy who is also the 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist, is ranked seventh.

Completing the top 10 are France’s Valentin Lavallenie, United States’ Cole Walsh and Poland’s Pawef Wojciechowski.

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