Australia has claimed its first medal at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
Perth-born Nina Kennedy took bronze in the women’s pole vault, clearing 4.85 metres in the final and celebrating accordingly.
The 25-year-old looked shaky early as she failed twice at 4.45m, then cleared that height on her third attempt to continue in the medal hunt.
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Incredibly, she then cleared 4.60m with her first vault.
Kennedy followed that up by clearing 4.70m on her first go, and then cleared 4.80m when the field was reduced to five competitors.
When two of those dropped out she was guaranteed a medal. The Aussie passed up the chance to try 4.90m, and instead cleared 4.85m on her third attempt to secure the medal.
“I’m so happy with a bronze. It definitely gives me confidence going into the next few years ahead,” Kennedy said.
“Those girls are in their 30s. I’m still 25 so I have a few more years to crack that 90 bar.
“I think as athletes we are so used to wanting more but I’m going to soak this up. A bronze medal on the world stage is absolutely incredible and I think I’m going to enjoy this feeling for the next few days and next few weeks.”
She was beaten to the gold and silver by American athletes Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris. Nageotte won the gold medal via countback.
Kennedy screamed in elation as she fell comfortably after clearing her 4.85m jump.
She’s no stranger to success, though, having won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. She once held the junior world record jump.
Last year she cleared an Australian record 4.82m while preparing for the Tokyo Games. But in the process she tore her calf muscle, and then suffered an adductor injury, then a quadricep as well.
On top of that, on arrival in Tokyo, she was forced into COVID-19 isolation after being deemed a close contact.
“I was so close to pulling out (of the Olympics),” Kennedy told CODE in February.
“My head was a mess, my body was a mess. I was like, ‘Oh, do I even want to go out there and just actually embarrass myself, kinda thing?'”
Kennedy finished her Tokyo Games in 12th place.
Now she’s back to her best and has a World Championships medal to show for it.
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