EJ Obiena, Ersu Sasma, Menno Vloon, Thibaut Collet, Austin Miller, Piotr Lisek, Oleg Zernikel, Ben Broeders, and Matt Ludwig strut their wares in the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge on Sept. 21.
EJ Obiena was beaming with pride and joy as one of his sporting dreams gets realized this weekend.
Joining eight other world-class pole vault athletes on stage at the One Ayala Mall in Makati, Obiena figured in a meet and greet before seeing action at the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge.
The showcase headlined by the two-time Filipino Olympian is set for Sunday at the Ayala Triangle.
“It’s amazing, I think everybody’s looking forward to jumping tomorrow,” said Obiena.
Competing in the tournament along with Obiena are Ersu Sasma, Menno Vloon, Thibaut Collet, Austin Miller, Piotr Lisek, Oleg Zernikel, Ben Broeders, and Matt Ludwig.
Sanctioned by the World Athletics Continental Tour-Bronze category, the competition is the brainchild of Obiena.
After the 2024 Paris Olympics, the current world no. 7 vowed to bring the top pole vaulters to Manila the same year.
But after prematurely ending his 2024 season because of a persistent back injury, his dream competition had to be pushed to a later date. Now Obiena couldn’t help but feel elated to finally get this event going.
“On a personal side, this is a dream of mine for quite some time… Thanks to everyone who said yes and will be part of the event,” the two-time Olympian said.
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.