FULFILLING a long-cherished dream, pole vault ace Ernest John Obiena, with the help of the Ayala Atleta and MVP Sports Foundations, will bring the world’s top pole vaulters to the country to vie in the 1st Ayala Atleta World Pole Vault Challenge on Sept. 21 at the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati.
“This has been a lifelong dream of mine. After many years of preparations, we are finally bringing a World Athletics-sanctioned pole vault event in the Philippines, right in the city of Makati,” the Italy-based Obiena said yesterday during an online press conference announcing the competition.
“We are bringing the world’s 10 pole vaulters – my friends from all over the globe – to the Ayala Gardens for the (pre-event) on Sept. 20 and (the actual meet) on Sept. 21,” added the back-to-back Olympic Games veteran.
“This event will be part of the World Athletics calendar and just after the world championship in Tokyo, Japan,” said Obiena, referring to the 20th edition of the global athletics showcase opening on Sept. 13 in the Japanese capital.
He hinted that Filipino sports fans would be able to witness sensational Swedish world and Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis in the flesh, along with other crack pole vaulters, with the official roster of entries to be announced once the meet draws near.
“I am grateful to Ayala Atleta and the MVP Sports Foundation for making this possible. And to the Patafa (Philippine Athletic Track and Field Association) as well. This is proof that we can accomplish big things together,” Obiena stressed, with Patafa secretary general Jasper Tanhueco at the online briefing.
“Why is Ayala involved? There is only one reason. We believe in the power of sports. We believe in the role it plays in national development,” Ayala Corp. executive director Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala said.
“We can never underestimate how sports competition inspires a nation,” the third-generation Ayala official said, citing the likes of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, weightlifting Olympic gold medalist Hidylin Diaz, Paris Summer Games double gold medalist Carlos Edrie Yulo and rising tennis star Alex Eala as examples.
He said that staging the meet right in the heart of the country’s premier commercial and business hub “marks another chapter in the history of the Ayala Triangle Gardens as a community center, symbolizing the evolution of Makati itself.”
Former two-time Olympic swimmer Jasmine Alkhaldi, who is now the Ayala Atleta Foundation program head, pointed out that “it is a tremendous honor for Atletang Ayala to work with EJ’s team and our partners to make this happen.
“We want to raise the Philippine flag in upholding Filipino sports excellence and organizing high-level sports events on our shores. So the Ayala Atleta World Pole Vault Challenge hits these aims with one stone.”
Having established rapport and friendship with the world’s pole vault elite, including Duplantis, Obiena said it would not be hard to convince these athletes to travel to the country and take part in the WA-sanctioned event.
“What’s not to love about the Philippines? This is why we strategically placed the dates at the end of the world championships so that they can easily come over,” he explained.
While he is one of the competition’s organizers, the athlete, now ranked No. 4 in the WA world ratings, explained he would be among the world’s best in the meet.
“Of course, I will be there. I won’t miss it for the world. I am grateful that it has finally happened. it is like a baby of mine that I can finally see through. Definitely, I won’t miss this for the world,” he said.
He said he also missed competing in front of hometown fans, who last saw him in action when he won the gold medal in the 33rd Philippine Southeast Asian Games at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium in Capas, Tarlac, in 2019.
“I can’t wait to jump in front of a home crowd. I have not done that in such a long time. The last time I did that was in the 2019 SEA Games and it was far from the heart of the city,” he recalled.
“To bring the sport outside of the track and bring it closer to the people is fine. Makati, being as busy as it is, is an amazing spot to jump.”
