Nina Kennedy wins gold in Paris! Pole vault star seals perfect day for Australia with incredible performance at Olympic Games
Nina Kennedy has won a record 18 gold medals for Australia at the Paris Olympics, winning the women’s pole vault.
After an early miss at 4.70 meters, the 27-year-old Kennedy cleared her next three jumps, clearing 4.80, 4.85 and 4.90 meters on her first attempt.
She missed her first attempt at 4.95m, but it didn’t matter: 4.90m was enough to secure the gold.
It was Australia’s fourth gold medal on a glittering Wednesday in Paris, taking the country’s gold medal tally to a record 18 with four days of competition still to come.
The previous best total was 17 gold medals at the 2004 Athens Games and again three years ago in Tokyo.
“I’m here, I’m a gold medalist, that’s so cool,” she told Nine.
Kennedy’s victory means Australia has won 18 gold medals at the Paris Olympics, a remarkable comeback story for the 27-year-old.
Kennedy, who she herself described as ‘the lowest point of her entire career’, could only finish twelfth in Tokyo three years ago, as she was faced with all kinds of setbacks.
Injuries to her groin, hamstring, calf and quadriceps threw a spanner in the works for her preparation for the Olympics. In addition, she had suffered two broken bones in her back.
‘The stress fracture I had was in my L5 and L4 [vertebrae] So my physical therapist explained to me that it will either stay cracked – and many people live their lives like this – or it will heal again.
‘So I literally sat still for a month. I’m not exaggerating.
‘He [her physio] was like, ‘Don’t wear workout clothes.’ He also said not to carry my groceries if they were heavy and I thought, how am I going to live then?
Nina Kennedy has won gold in the women’s pole vault at the Olympic Games
Kennedy defeated reigning Olympic champion Katie Moon in a marathon final
The Australian was beside herself with emotion after her stunning victory
‘My first rehabilitation session was a month later and consisted of a 15-minute walk.’
To top it all off, Kennedy had to leave the athletes’ village in Tokyo after coming into contact with a Covid-positive athlete.
What followed was a disastrous 12th place, equaling her best jump from the 2014 World Junior Championships.
But it was a different story in Paris, where she cleared 4.90 metres, enough to win a famous gold medal.
More to follow.