International stars hail 'amazing' Philippine crowd in World Pole Vault Challenge

MANILA, September 23 ------ International pole vault stars, including the Philippines' own EJ Obiena, gave Filipino fans an unforgettable sporting experience as they braved the rains to compete in the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge.

Despite the light drizzle, a handful of the world's top-ranked pole vaulters competed at the Ayala Triangle, with Obiena emerging triumphant. France's Thibaut Collet took second place, and Poland's Piotr Lisek completed the podium. Several high-profile athletes were in attendance at the event, including the country's first-ever Olympic gold medalist, Hidilyn Diaz. The competition also served as an opportunity for Hokett delos Santos of the University of Santo Tomas to test himself against world-class competition. While local fans were treated to a unique athletic spectacle, the pole vault stars were also awed by the response of the crowd to their feats.

"The crowd was amazing," said Poland's Lisek, who cleared 5.60-meters. "This event was … 100% professional, so I am glad to be here." "In pole vault, we have a lot of competition in the streets around the world," said France's Collet, who like Obiena cleared a height of 5.80-m but took silver on countback. "This one was really impressive, because it's the first time for me to come here." "And yeah, the crowd was amazing," Collet also said. "We all know what is it to have a big atmosphere around us, but today was really particular, and it was beautiful and amazing."

Obiena was admittedly surprised at the size of the crowd but gave full credit to the organizers and sponsors for successfully completing the event. The World Pole Vault Challenge had been a dream come true for Obiena, who said after last year's Paris Olympics that he hoped to bring his sport closer to Filipino fans. "I will be biased, I would say this is the best competition I've been in. It is my home meet, so what else am I gonna say," Obiena said.

The success of the event leaves open the possibility of a repeat in the coming years, and possibly expanding the field. "Hopefully, everybody who organized this is happy and we'll get a part 2, part 3, maybe have this every year. Now we have these athletes to say how good the Philippines is," said Obiena. "Hopefully next time, we'll bring much more, maybe the women as well."

Source: news.abs-cbn.com