Malen Ruiz de Azua

The Gipuzkoan pole vaulter Malen Ruiz de Azua is one of the main national figures in her event. She started practicing athletics when she was 10 years old in the municipality of Mondragón, where she is from, and a little later she opted for pole vaulting despite her small physique in those early days.

In 2012 she was proclaimed Spanish national champion for the first time, in youth category, and a year later she made her international debut with the Spanish team at the European Junior Championships in Rieti, also participating at the World Junior Championships in Eugene in 2014. In 2017 she qualified for the final at the European U23 Championship in Bydgoszcz, reaching 9th place, which has been her best international result so far.

She already has three Spanish national senior titles, all of them indoors, and another six outdoor medals (three silver and three bronze), while she continues to grow as athlete to aspire to the track and field major events in the coming years.