The Philippines’s Ernest John Obiena competes in the men’s pole vault event during the Shanghai/Keqiao Diamond League athletics meeting in Keqiao, Shaoxing in China’s eastern Zhejiang province on May 3, 2025. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines—Home bet EJ Obiena and fellow Olympian Menno Vloon of the Netherlands headline the first batch of participants in the World Pole Vault Challenge set for September 21 at Ayala Malls Manila Bay.
Holding a pole vault competition in the Philippines was a “lifelong dream” come true for Obiena, who initially planned to stage the world-class event last year.
READ: EJ Obiena fulfills ‘lifelong dream’ with world pole vault event in PH
Vloon, like Obiena, competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he finished in 11th place.
Americans Austin Miller and Matthew Ludwig are also confirmed for the meet.
Miller, the world No. 14, just won the 2025 USA National Pole Vault Championship earlier this month with a personal best 5.92m clearance.
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Ludwig, meanwhile, is currently ranked 25th in the world. He competed at the Tokyo Olympics as an alternate after his compatriot Sam Kendricks was ruled out due to COVID-19.
Obiena had said he is aiming to bring some of the top pole vaulters in the world, including Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis, to participate in the tournament.
Duplantis recently set the world record for the 13th time, raising it to 6.29m in an athletics meet in Budapest.
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