Matěj Ščerba (born 9 December 1998) is a Czech pole vaulter. He has won Czech national titles in tne pole vault both indoors and outdoors and competed at the

2024 Olympic Games The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Early life

Ščerba was born on 9 December 1998 in

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction. ...

. He initially played hockey before trying athletics which because his cousin did it. He did not try pole vault straight away but tried it when he was older. His first major success was a junior title in

Třinec Třinec (; ; ) is a city in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the least populated Statutory city (Czech Republic), statutory city in the country. The city ...

in 2016.

Career

He is coached by Czech former Olympic pole vaulter

Zdeněk Lubenský Zdeněk Lubenský (born 3 December 1962) is a Czech athlete. He competed in the men's pole vault at the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 () ...

. He won the Czech indoor national title in March 2022 in

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

. He finished third at the

Czech Indoor Athletics Championships The Czech Indoor Athletics Championships () is an annual indoor track and field competition organised by the Czech Athletics Federation, which serves as the national championship for the sport in the Czech Republic.Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

. He was runner-up for the Czech national title at the

Czech Athletics Championships The Czech Athletics Championships () is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Czech Athletics Federation, which serves at the national championship for the sport in the Czech Republic. It superseded the Czechoslovak Athl ...

in July 2023, in

Tibor Tibor is a masculine Hungarian given name. * Originated shortened form of the medieval Hungarian name ''Tiborc''; which originates from the ancient Latin surname Tiburtius. * from Etruscan name Tibur, which means "honest man" Some notable peopl ...

. He won the Czech indoor national title for a second time in February 2024 in Ostrava. On 4 June 2024, he set a new personal best height of 5.66 metres, whilst competing in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He qualified for the final and placed tenth overall at the

2024 European Athletics Championships The 26th European Athletics Championships were held from 7 to 12 June 2024 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. It was the third time Italy staged this sporting event after the inaugural 1934 European Athletics Championships, 1934 edition in T ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy. He won the Czech outdoor national title for the first time in June 2024 in

Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 75,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice River. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the modern city ...

, recording a personal best height of 5.67 metres. He qualified through ranking and competed in the pole vault at the

2024 Paris Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, where he cleared 5.40 metres but did not progress to the final. He was named the Athlete of the Ústí nad Labem 2024 in a ceremony held in February 2025. He won his third Czech national indoor title in February 2025, clearing 5.62 metres in Ostrava. He was selected for the

2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held from 6 to 9 March 2025 at the Omnisport Apeldoorn arena in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. The four-day competition features thirteen men's, thirteen women's and one mixed athletics events over t ...

Appeldoorn Apeldoorn (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland in the centre of the Netherlands. The municipality of Apeldoorn, including the villages of Beekbergen, Loenen, Ugchelen and Hoenderloo, had a population o ...

, Netherlands, where he cleared 5.45 metres but did not progress to the final. He competed at the

2025 European Athletics Team Championships First Division Below are the full startlists and, when confirmed, results of the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships First Division on 26–29 June 2025 in Madrid, Spain. Overall standings Host nation (Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a ...

in Madrid, where he cleared a lifetime best of 5.70 metres.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scerba, Matej 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Ústí nad Labem Athletes from the Ústí nad Labem Region Czech male pole vaulters Czech Athletics Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for the Czech Republic 21st-century Czech sportsmen