Camille Naredo

Pole vaulters who will compete in the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge during a meet-and-greet with fans on September 20, 2025 at the One Ayala Concourse. Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

Pole vaulters who will compete in the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge during a meet-and-greet with fans on September 20, 2025 at the One Ayala Concourse.

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Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge

Dyan Castillejo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758361456358viber_image_2025-09-20_16-55-27-703.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Pole vaulters who will compete in the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge during a meet-and-greet with fans on September 20, 2025 at the One Ayala Concourse. Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News"/>Pole vaulters who will compete in the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge during a meet-and-greet with fans on September 20, 2025 at the One Ayala Concourse. Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News</div>MANILA -- Some of the world&#x27;s top pole vaulters shared valuable advice to Filipino athletes on Saturday, a day before they take flight in the Atletang Ayala Pole Vault Challenge.French star Thibaut Collet and World No. 12 credited his family background for helping him get into pole vaulting and emphasized the value of passion.&quot;My dad was a pole vaulter, professional pole vaulter. And for me, it was easier to come to pole vault.&quot;&quot;And like, I&#x27;m doing pole vault since maybe 10 or 12 years now,&quot; he added. In his experience, passion was what he believed kept him going. &quot;And the most important thing is to be 100% passionate by the sport and by what we do.&quot;Germany&#x27;s Oleg Zernikel, World No. 16, highlighted the importance of finding balance and discipline. &quot;I would say that if you know what you want, then you will find a path in pole vault and in any other sports, I believe.&quot;&quot;So it&#x27;s not only motivation, but a discipline to go to training every day, every week. And then you get better. There are some tough times, and everybody will have them. So for the kids, just have fun with what you&#x27;re doing, and then it will succeed.&quot;For Matt Ludwig, World No. 23, the journey of a pole vaulter—especially in the United States—requires persistence and a commitment to keep learning.&quot;In the United States, you really have to be a standout at a very young age to continue to earn support. So really, in the global, so you really have to be a standout in order to gain support initially,&quot; he explained. To him, it&#x27;s important to never stop learning as you grow. &quot;If you can continue to develop, one of the best traits is to be a student of the sport. To really seek out information and continue to grow and teach yourself. So if you have the passion for it, and you&#x27;re willing to put in the work to really gather information, that&#x27;s the best way to improve.&quot;<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/9/20/ej-obiena-eager-to-put-on-a-show-in-front-of-home-crowd-in-pole-vault-event-0630">READ: EJ Obiena eager to put on a show in front of home crowd in pole vault event</a></div><div> </div><div>NINE OF THE BEST</div>Nine of the world&#x27;s best pole vaulters -- including the Philippines&#x27; own in EJ Obiena -- will compete on Sunday at the Ayala Triangle Gardens.Aside from Obiena, also seeking to put on a show are:-- World No. 5 Ersu Sasma (Turkey)-- World No. 6 Menno Vloon (Netherlands)-- World No. 12 Thibaut Collet (France)-- World No. 13 Ben Broeders (Belgium)-- World No. 14 Austin Miller (USA)-- World No. 15 Piotr Lisek (Poland)-- World No. 16 Oleg Zernikel (Germany)-- World No. 23 Matt Ludwig (USA)<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/9/20/int-l-pole-vault-stars-look-forward-to-competing-in-ph-1530">READ: Int&#x27;l pole vault stars look forward to competing in PH</a></div>On Saturday, they met fans at the One Ayala Concourse and expressed their gratitude for the warm welcome they have received from Filipinos so far.World No. 23 Matt Ludwig described the Philippine community as welcoming and outgoing.&quot;In my personal experience of the last six years doing this professionally. This has been the most outgoing, the most welcoming community, city, nation as a whole,&quot; he said.&quot;To welcome in just a couple superstars in our sport. And really, really show out all the love, all the support. And they couldn&#x27;t be more excited to come watch. And we could not be more excited to go perform. So all in all, the welcome into the Philippines has just been warm,&quot; he added.

Some of the world's top pole vaulters shared valuable advice to Filipino athletes on Saturday, a day before they take flight in the Atletang Ayala Pole Vault Challenge.

Some of the world's top pole vaulters shared valuable advice to Filipino athletes on Saturday, a day before they take flight in the Atletang Ayala Pole Vault Challenge.

Top pole vaulters share advice to Filipino hopefuls

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Top pole vaulters share advice to Filipino hopefuls

Dyan Castillejo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 20, 2025 05:47 PM PHT

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pole vault

EJ Obiena

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