Vloon to join Makati vaultfest

Dutch star Menno Vloon is going to Manila to compete in the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault event set on 20 and 21 September at the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati City.

The 31-year-old Vloon, the world No. 7 with a personal best of 5.96 meters, is already confirmed to see action after personally accepting the invitation from Ernest John Obiena, who aims to bring the sport that is largely played in Europe closer to Filipino fans.

Vloon will be joined by Americans Austin Miller and Matt Ludwig in this prestigious event that is sanctioned by World Athletics with valuable ranking points at stake.

Ranked No. 14 in the world, the 6-foot-3 Miller is one of the best American vaulters together with Chris Nielsen and Sam Kendricks. He has been a regular fixture in world-class events and even finished fourth in the Xiamen leg of the Diamond League last year.

Not to be outdone is Ludwig.

After seeing action in the Tokyo Olympics as a last-minute replacement for Kendricks, the 29-year-old Ludwig struggled to make an impact on the global level. His most impressive performance was 5.55 meters that prompted him to win a gold medal in the Pan American Games in 2023 in Chile.

In a previous statement, Obiena said his goal is to gather all the best pole vaulters in the world, especially since they are coming off a campaign in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

“It has been my lifelong dream to mount a world-class sporting event in my homeland to showcase Filipino talent and make the nation proud,” said Obiena, who slid from No. 3 to No. 5 in the world ranking after skipping some crucial events.

“Now, it’s finally happening. I call on my kababayans (compatriots) to come together and support this once-in-a-lifetime event.”

Aside from Vloon, Miller and Ludwig, other vaulters expected to confirm their attendance in the coming days are Nilsen, Kendricks, Kurtis Marschall of Australia, KC Lightfoot of the United States, Ben Broders of Germany, Emmanouil Karalis of Greece and world record-holder and reigning Olympic champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden, who is considered as Obiena’s good friend.

Obiena’s training partners under Ukrainian mentor Vitaly Petrov in Hussain Asim Al Hizam of Saudi Arabia and Bokai Huang of China are also tipped to participate.