Australian pole vault queen Nina Kennedy is soaring to new heights – and her timing couldn’t have been better.
Under the bright lights and eye-popping glitz of the Monaco Diamond League competition in Monte Carlo, one of her favorite places, the 29-year-old jumped a personal best of 4.95m to demolish her rivals on Friday night.
Her new Australian record placed Kennedy fifth on the all-time list, and he was also good enough to be the world’s top women’s pole vaulter for the past five years.
“I know I’m in very good shape and the pole vault is very technical and I just had to put it all together,” she said after her remarkable vault.
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“Monaco is an ideal place, I always jump well here.
“It’s a good runway, the crowd is amazing and I’m really happy with how I jumped.”
The timing could hardly be better as Kennedy awaits the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she is the defending champion.
With her confidence at an all-time high, Kennedy has set herself a new goal for the Games, which begin in less than two weeks.
“I truly believe I can jump 5 meters and I know that if everything comes together, I can do it,” she said.
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“I still have a lot of competitions before the end of the season, that’s my goal. Project 5M is already here.”
But it hasn’t been easy for the Busselton-born vaulter, who has had to deal with a number of injuries throughout her career.
Just last year Kennedy had to take a 12-month break due to a hamstring problem.
“I would say that during these seven years of struggle, I just showed up,” she said. “It taught me a lot of resilience.
“I have learned this lesson and am going to use it in my career, but also in my life, friendships and beyond.
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“That’s what’s special about sports: you learn lessons that are damn hard, and not a lot of other things teach you that.
“I had a lot of fun, I always had a smile on my face and I think there’s always the belief of never giving up.”
Kennedy celebrated her victory with fellow Western Australian Kurtis Marshall, who won bronze at the competition with a jump of 5.85m.
World record holder and Swedish superstar Mondo DuPlantis won the competition with a jump of 6.07 – a Monaco Diamond League competition record.
Australia’s Mackenzie Little (57.67m) finished fifth in the women’s javelin, while rising Chinese star Yan Ziyi won easily after throwing 68.75m.
In the men’s 5000m, Kai Robinson finished 11th with a time of 13:26.70.
AARP