Australia’s pole vault queen Nina Kennedy is soaring to new heights – and her timing couldn’t be any better.
Under the bright lights and dazzle of the Monaco Diamond League meet in Monte Carlo, one of her favourite destinations, the 29-year-old leapt to a personal-best 4.95 metres to dominate her opposition and win gold on Friday night.
Her new Australian record places Kennedy at fifth on the all-time list.
“I know that I am in really good shape and pole vault is so technical, and I just had to put everything all together,” she said after the remarkable jump.
“Monaco is the place to do it, I always jump well here.
“It’s a good runway, an amazing crowd and I am just really happy with how I jumped.”
The timing couldn’t have been better as Kennedy looks ahead to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she is the defending champion.
With her confidence high, Kennedy has set herself a new goal for the Games, which start in less than a fortnight.
“I genuinely believe that I can jump 5 metres, and I know if everything aligns I can do it,” she said.
“I still have a lot of competitions for the rest of the season, that’s my goal. Project 5 metres is here.”
But it hasn’t been easy for the Busselton-born jumper, who has had to endure a spate of injuries during her career.
Just last year Kennedy had to take 12 months off because of a hamstring problem.
“I would say through those seven years of struggles, I just showed up,” she said. “That taught me a lot of resilience.
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“I’ve learnt that lesson, and I’m going to take that through my career, but also through my life, my friendships and beyond that.
“That’s what is so special about sport, you learn these lessons that are damn hard, and not many other things teach you that.
“I’ve had a lot of fun, always a smile on my face and I guess the belief is always there to never give up.”
Kennedy celebrated her win with fellow West Australian Kurtis Marschall, who took bronze at the meet after jumping 5.85 metres.
The world record holder and Swedish superstar Mondo DuPlantis won the event with a jump of 6.07 metres – a meet record for the Monaco Diamond League.
Australia’s Mackenzie Little (57.67 metres) finished fifth in the women’s javelin, with rising Chinese star Yan Ziyi winning with her throw of 68.75 metres.
In the men’s 5000m, Ky Robinson finished 11th in a time of 13 minutes and 26.70 seconds.