Hokett Delos Santos joined the elite pole vaulters like EJ Obiena in the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge. Delos Santos was a surprise addition to the lineup after topping the National Pole Vault competition the day before.
Filipino pole vaulters need exposure to elevate themselves into world-class athletes.
This was what EJ Obiena suggested when the organizers gave national champion Hokett Delos Santos the rare opportunity to go up against top-flight competition at the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge on Sunday, Sept. 21.
“What Filipinos actually lack compared to these guys and all the guys here is competition,” said Obiena, who topped the competition at the Ayala Triangle Gardens.
“This is the first, this is the biggest, this is way bigger than SEA Games, Asian Games. This is world-class,” he added.
The sentiment wasn’t exactly wrong.
[RELATED STORY: Hokett Delos Santos surprise addition to EJ Obiena's Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge]
Sanctioned by the World Athletics as a Continental Tour-Bronze category, the event was the first of its kind in the Philippines.
Top pole vaulters like world no. 5 Ersu Sasma, world no. 6 Menno Vloon, and eventual silver medalist Thibaut Collet joined the event and jumped.
Going up against the creme de la creme of the sport understandably got to Delos Santos’ nerves.
But such was necessary pressure even for an athlete as decorated as Delos Santos, according to the world no. 7 Obiena.
[ALSO READ: EJ Obiena hopes home events like Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge can become annual]
UAAP champion Hokett Delos Santos was given the chance to compete in the main World Pole Vault challenge alongside EJ Obiena. Photo: RM Chua
“This is the first time he stepped out on the track with us. He might have the nerves, he might got intimidated. But that was me first in Europe,” he said.
“You get to learn this. You learn that they’re a little bit whiter, they’re a little bit more handsome, but we’re the same. We can jump, we can push our body to the limits, and really compete with the best of the best.”
[ALSO READ: EJ Obiena comes home to rule Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge]
Though Delos Santos, a fourth year student in UST, failed to clear his first height in Sunday’s competition, Obiena believes this experience will go a long way in the UAAP champion’s development.
“I think he might have no height at this time, I think this is a huge step for him when it comes to experience in really getting to know how the world of pole vault, competing with guys who have jumped six meters and knocking on it,” he said.
This is only the start of something great for the UAAP champion, who could follow in Obiena’s footsteps.
“I believe this is just the start for him and I’m really proud that he went out and really the best that he could,” Obiena said.
“I do know that he’s a little bit exhausted, but the whole idea is to give him the experience of a world-class competition, therefore, when he steps foot in the SEA Games, Asian Games, it’s going to be a walk in the park. The nerves are not going to be there, or it’s going to be there but he has experience to control it, use it, and hopefully, one day love it.”
[ALSO READ: Thibaut Collet heaps praise on EJ Obiena for winning, staging Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge]
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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.