She very well could have been the stand-alone world champion after all.
One week after sharing world championships gold with American Katie Moon, Aussie star Nina Kennedy has put herself on top of the world with a stand-alone victory in another nail-biting pole vault competition at the Zurich Diamond League meeting on Thursday morning.
Kennedy and Moon, who won Olympic gold in Tokyo two years ago and took the 2022 world title in Eugene under her maiden name of Nageotte, shared gold after tying in the Hungarian capital during last week’s world championships.
Despite the gesture of classy sportsmanship to share the gold, Kennedy and Moon were also criticised for the “shameful” act of failing to fight to the bitter end to crown an individual winner.
The act of kindness from Moon mirrored an unforgettable moment at the Tokyo Olympics when Italy‘s Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim agreed to share the high-jump gold medal.
There was no shortage of drama in Zurich on Thursday, but another shared victory never looked likely as Kennedy won with an Oceania record, personal best and meet record of 4.91 metres.
Her performance set several incredible records.
“I am really surprised! And I am so happy. This is all my dreams come true, I love Zurich,” said Kennedy.
“Now I will fly home to Australia before travelling to Eugene where I hope to win the final,” she said in reference to the Diamond League finals in Oregon on September 16-17.
She told Athletics Australia she knew Moon was going to be “out for blood” after their world championship result.
“Because the pressure was off, I was able to just focus on doing what I love. I can’t believe I was able to jump 4.91 tonight,” Kennedy said.
“I didn’t actually have a lot of confidence going in today. I knew that Katie was out for blood. Sharing that gold medal was nice and all but tonight we both wanted to win and be the outright winner so I felt the pressure.
“We had a great battle tonight and I came out on top and she fought really hard and it fills me with a lot of confidence going into Eugene for the Diamond League finals and for next year too.”
The pole vault was held a day earlier than the main Diamond League program at the famed Letzigrund Stadium, on a specially constructed track at Zurich Hauptbahnhof, the city’s main train station.
A seated temporary tribune overlooked the runway, while thousands of commuters swelled around the landing mat, lending the event a surreal feeling as trains pulled in and out of platforms just metres away.
Dance music boomed and the crowd, often just passing, were left roaring in delight or gasping in disappointment as the 10-strong field took it in turns to thunder down the raised track.
When Kennedy passed 4.81m on her first attempt — a personal best and Oceania record — the pressure was back on Moon, but the American kept her nerve to mirror the Australian’s success.
With the bar raised to 4.91m, Kennedy was first on the runway, making no mistake in a remarkable vault, but Moon didn’t get close on her first effort.
When neither were able to clear 4.96m, the victory was handed to Kennedy amid an electric atmosphere.
“I did not get my run dialled in soon enough. It took me a minute to get comfortable with the runway,” said Moon, adding that she was not surprised at Kennedy’s winning height.
“I had a feeling it would go high today.”
— with AFP
