Slovenian Tina Sutej will also be at “Jumping Overcoming Boundaries”

She certainly couldn't miss this event, scheduled in "her" Slovenia and Italy. That's why she enthusiastically said "yes" to the organizers. Also participating in "Jumping Overcoming Boundaries," the pole vault competition in the Transalpina-Trg Europe square, will be Tina Sutej, reigning European and World Indoor vice-champion, and holder of the Slovenian national outdoor (4.81m) and indoor (4.82m) records for the event. The 36-year-old Ljubljana-born athlete joins Tokyo 2021 Olympic champion Katie Moon (USA) in the lineup of participants who will vault on the border between Gorizia and Nova Gorica on Friday, July 25. The event, organized by Libertas Udine on behalf of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Committee of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), is part of the Go! 2025 European Capital of Culture program.

Sutej will be one of five specialists expected in the women's competition, which begins at 4:00 PM. Already a silver medalist at the U20 World Championships in 2006, the Slovenian specialist changed gear four seasons ago, when she was 32. After consistently competing at major international events since 2010, the jumper took second place at the 2021 European Indoor Championships in Torun with a new personal best of 4.70. Since then, she has collected six international medals, winning silver at the Continental Championships in Apeldoorn and the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing last March. She also boasts three Olympic Games (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2021, and Paris 2024). She is captain of the Slovenian national team, with which she secured promotion to the First Division of the European Team Championships last June in Ljubljana.

The first name emerges in the men's competition, which begins at 6:15 PM. It's Poland's Piotr Lisek, 32, one of 29 athletes in the history of the discipline to have cleared the 6-meter barrier. With 6.02 meters outdoors and 6.00 meters indoors, he holds the national records for the event, in which he has won ten international medals. Among his notable achievements are his second place at the 2017 World Championships in London and, that same year, the continental indoor title in Belgrade. "Throughout my career, I've competed in different contexts," said Lisek. "Interacting with the fans and trying to jump high, proving my worth, is always important to me. The organizers will certainly ensure an unforgettable experience for the fans and the comfort of the participants. I can't wait. I want to fly high."

More athletes will be announced in the coming days, completing a roster of world-class pole vaulters.

Photo: Lisek, credit Tomasz Kasjaniuk/PZLAPhoto: Sutej, credit Peter Kastelic/AZS