Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena on Sunday revealed that he endured a bout with COVID-19 two weeks before he competed in the World Athletics Championships.

Obiena placed second in the men's pole vault final, clearing 6.0 meters to match his personal best and the Asian record. Sweden's Armand Duplantis retained his world championship after clearing 6.10-m in the final held at the National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary.

• Obiena claims silver in worlds as Duplantis retains pole vault crown

But the Tokyo Olympian shared that it had not been an easy road for him, after testing positive for COVID-19 in the weeks leading up to the competition.

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A post shared by Ernest Obiena (@ernestobienapv)

"Life is like a rose … It is beautiful, but it also comes with thorns," Obiena wrote on his social media accounts. "A mere mere two weeks ago, the thorns got to me. I was sick with Covid, I lost almost two weeks of heavy training, and I started to question why I got the thorns."

Along with a copy of his positive test result, Obiena shared a video that he filmed while sick, wherein he admitted: "[I] haven't been able to train pretty good … Right now, it's a question if physically, I'll be ready."

"[I] just pray to God there's a reason why this is happening," Obiena said in the video.

The pole vaulter focused on the silver linings after his achievement, saying: "Perhaps I would never have silver-medalled without the thorns of COVID and being sick. Thorns toughen you up. Thorns make you appreciate the beauty of the rose."

Obiena's silver was an improvement upon the bronze that he won in last year's world championships in Eugene, Oregon.

It also continues his streak of podium finishes in competitions this year, which includes the gold medal in the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, Thailand last July and the gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia last May.

• Obiena sets new competition record en route to Asian Championships gold