‘Mongrel’ spirit drives pole vault queen Nina Kennedy in world title defence
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Australia's Nina Kennedy has been undergoing rehabilitation after hamstring surgery.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MELBOURNE – Olympic pole vault champion Nina Kennedy will defend her world title in Tokyo without a single lead-up competition, coming in cold after a long injury layoff that has her torn between protecting her body and unleashing her competitive spirit.
The 28-year-old has not competed since becoming the first Australian woman to win Olympic gold in a field event at the 2024 Paris Games, having undergone hamstring surgery after three strains in six weeks.
The rehabilitation wiped out her entire build-up to the Sept 13-21 world championships, forcing her to forgo all Diamond League meets and enter Tokyo on a wild card.
“Only training for six weeks, we’ve pushed my body to the absolute limits just to get here,” Kennedy said.
“It creates niggles elsewhere – in the back, in the quad – so I can’t say I have full confidence in my body. But I do have full confidence that the injury is okay.”
Kennedy estimated she was at about 80 per cent fitness and held little hope of being at her peak in Tokyo after trying to squeeze four months’ preparation into less than two.
If it were earlier in her career, she might have skipped the event, she conceded.
But reckoning she has only three years left at the highest level, she said that she wanted to give Tokyo a “red, hot crack” and did not rule out nabbing a spot on the podium.
It has been an emotional tightrope for the reigning champion, who said she had worked closely with her sports psychologist to “adjust the goalposts” and focus more on process than outcome.
“There’s a mongrel in me, I’ve got this dog in me,” Kennedy added. “I have no right to think I can come off surgery and get back on the podium, but that’s the challenge we’ve set. That’s what excites me.”
She also said that a first-attempt clearance above 4.8m might be enough for a medal in a post-Olympic year, but would not know her limits until competition day.
“I haven’t stepped foot in an arena since Paris. I’m not sure where I’m at, but I’m embracing the vulnerability,” she said.
Taking a longer view, Kennedy, whose personal best is 4.91m, hopes to become the fifth woman to clear the five-metre barrier and ultimately perhaps even challenge Yelena Isinbayeva’s long-standing world record (5.06m).
“I see myself as the best athlete out there. Why not?” she insisted. REUTERS
