Nina Kennedy

Last updated

Nina Kennedy
Pole Vault Women MEETING STANISLAS TOMBLAINE 2018 Stade Raymond Petit (43082789941).jpg
Personal information
NationalityAustralian
Born (1997-04-05) 5 April 1997 (age 27)
Busselton, Western Australia
Education University of Notre Dame Australia
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) [1]
Weight60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
CountryAustralia
Sport Athletics
Event Pole vault
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • Outdoor: 4.91 m (2023 NR)
  • Indoor: 4.60 m (2018)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Paris Pole vault
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Budapest Pole vault
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Eugene Pole vault
Diamond League
Gold medal icon.svg 2022 Pole vault
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Birmingham Pole Vault
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 Gold Coast Pole Vault

Nina Kennedy (born 5 April 1997) [2] is an Australian athlete who holds the national record in the pole vault. [3] She won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, 2023 World Athletics Championships (shared with American Katie Moon) and at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Contents

Early years

Kennedy was born in Busselton, 225 kilometres (140 mi) south of Perth. Her family moved to Perth and she completed primary school there. She attended secondary school at PLC Perth. [4] When she was 11 years old she joined her first club, Perry Lakes Little Athletics. Kennedy started pole vaulting one year later after a pole vault coach identified her talent at an athletics meet. In 2012, aged 14, Kennedy placed second in the senior Australian pole vault championships with a personal best of 4.10m. A year later she set a best of 4.31m and placed fifth at the IAAF World Youth (U18) Championships. At the 2014 IAAF World Juniors, she vaulted a personal best of 4.40m, just missing a medal to finish fourth. [5]

Senior career

In February 2015 in Perth, Kennedy cleared 4.43m, then 4.50m and finally 4.59m – a world junior record. This qualified her for the 2015 World Championships in Beijing but she failed to clear the opening height in the qualification round.

In 2018, Kennedy raised her personal best to 4.60m and a week later moved to number three Australian all-time with a vault of 4.71m. At the National Championships she vaulted a 4.60m and defeated New Zealand's Olympic bronze medallist Eliza McCartney. [5]

At the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Kennedy won bronze. In early 2020, Kennedy cleared her second-best ever height of 4.61m and was consistent with eight consecutive competitions at 4.70m or higher.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Kennedy jumped while injured, with a 4.40m clearance that placed 12th in her qualifier. [6]

Kennedy raised the Australian record to 4.82m at the 2021 Sydney Track Classic. [7]

At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Kennedy won bronze with a clearance of 4.80m. This clearance saw Kennedy achieve the highest jump by an Australian at a World Athletics Championships, surpassing Alana Boyd's mark of 4.60m achieved at the 2015 World Athletics Championships held in Beijing. The next month, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Kennedy won gold with a clearance of 4.60m. [8]

At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Kennedy won gold with a clearance of 4.90m, which she shared with the American athlete Katie Moon. [9]

Competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionNotes
Representing Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
2013 World Youth Championships Donetsk, Ukraine5th4.05 m
2014 World Junior Championships Eugene, Oregon, US4th 4.40 m
2015 World Championships Beijing, China NM
2016 World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland NM
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom8th 4.60 m
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 3rd 4.60 m
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 22nd (q) 4.40 m
2022 World Championships Eugene, Oregon, US3rd 4.80 m
Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom1st 4.60 m
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary1st= 4.90 m
2024 Olympic Games Paris, France 1st 4.90 m

Related Research Articles

Tatiana Vladimirovna Grigorieva is a retired Australian pole vaulter. She retired from the sport in 2007 after a 10-year career that saw her win Olympic, Commonwealth and World Championship medals. She went on to star in series six of Dancing with the Stars and as Olympia on the 2008 revival of Gladiators.

Emma George is a former Australian pole vaulter. She held the world record from 30 November 1995 until 26 May 2000, setting a new record on twelve occasions, before being passed by Stacy Dragila. She was previously a trapeze artist in The Flying Fruit Fly Circus. She was coached by world-renowned coach Mark Stewart, who also led Steve Hooker to Olympic gold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Hooker</span> Australian pole vaulter (born 1982)

Steven Leslie Hooker OAM is an Australian former pole vaulter and Olympic gold medalist. His personal best, achieved in 2008, is 6.06 m making him the fourth-highest pole vaulter in history, behind Sergey Bubka, Renaud Lavillenie and Armand Duplantis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarisley Silva</span> Cuban pole vaulter

Yarisley Silva Rodríguez is a Cuban pole vaulter. She won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics – the first Latin American athlete to win an Olympic medal in that event.

The official results of the Women's Pole Vault at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, held on Monday 25 September 2000. There were a total number of 30 participating athletes in this event, which made its Olympic debut. The qualifying round was held on Saturday 23 September 2000, with the qualifying height set at 4.35 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alana Boyd</span> Australian pole vaulter (born 1984)

Alana Quade is a former Australian pole vaulter and Olympian.

Kate Rooney is an English pole vaulter. She is a former British record holder both indoors and out, before both of her records were surpassed by Holly Bleasdale in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angelica Bengtsson</span> Swedish pole vaulter

Angelica Therese Bengtsson is a Swedish track and field athlete who specialises in the pole vault. She became the first pole vault winner at the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly Bradshaw</span> British pole vaulter

Holly Bethan Bradshaw is an English track and field athlete who specialises in the pole vault. She used to be the British record holder in the event indoors and outdoors, with clearances of 4.87 metres and 4.90 metres. Bradshaw won a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She also won bronze at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, gold at the 2013 European Indoor Championships, bronze at the 2018 European Championships, and silver at the 2019 European Indoor Championships. She also won at the 2018 Athletics World Cup. Coached by Scott Simpson, she has been consistently ranked among the world's best and has been ranked in the world top ten on the Track and Field News merit rankings four times.

Elizaveta "Liz" Parnov is a Russian-Australian athlete who competed in the pole vault at the Olympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games. She is also the winner of Australian Survivor: Heroes V Villains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katerina Stefanidi</span> Greek pole vaulter (born 1990)

Katerina Stefanidi is a Greek pole vaulter. She won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and has also competed at the 2012 London and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Stefanidi was the 2017 World champion and earned bronze at the 2019 World Championships. At the European Athletics Championships, she has won two gold medals and three silvers. Indoors, she is a two-time World Indoor bronze medallist from 2016 and 2018, was the 2017 European Indoor champion and earned silver at the 2015 European Indoor Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alysha Newman</span> Canadian pole vaulter (born 1994)

Alysha Eveline Newman is a Canadian track and field athlete who specializes in the pole vault. She is 2024 Summer Olympics bronze medallist and 2018 Commonwealth Games champion, and holds both the Canadian national and Commonwealth Games records in the women's pole vault. Newman represented Canada at the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Summer Olympics, where she won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This marked her as the first Canadian woman to medal in pole vaulting at the Olympics. Her vault of 4.85 meters also set a new Canadian national record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eliza McCartney</span> New Zealand pole vaulter (born 1996)

Eliza McCartney is a New Zealand track and field athlete who competes in the pole vault and won the bronze medal in this event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is the current New Zealand and Oceania record holder at 4.94 m, and is the outdoor world junior record holder at 4.64 m. She also won the silver medal at the Summer Universiade in 2015. In 2018, she placed second at the Commonwealth Games.

Kurtis Marschall is an Australian pole vaulter, bronze medallist at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Olyslagers</span> Australian high jumper (born 1996)

Nicola Lauren Olyslagers is an Australian high jumper. She won the silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the high jump. Olyslagers is the current high jump Oceanian record holder, and the world champion at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Moon</span> American pole vaulter (born 1991)

Kathryn Elizabeth Moon is an American pole vaulter. She won gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships, and silver medals at the 2022 World Indoor Championships and the 2024 Summer Olympics. Moon was also the 2019 Pan American Games silver medalist.

Olivia McTaggart is a pole vault athlete from New Zealand. She was born in Australia and later moved with her family to Greenhithe, in Auckland, New Zealand. She attended Kristin School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Caudery</span> Cornish pole vaulter

Molly Caudery is a British athlete who competes in the pole vault event for England and Great Britain. Caudery is the 2024 World Indoor champion. She was also a silver medalist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and took bronze at the 2024 European Athletics Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 World Athletics Championships – Women's pole vault</span>

The women's pole vault at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene on 15 and 17 July 2022.

Imogen Ayris is a New Zealand athlete who competes in the pole vault. She won the bronze medal in the pole vault representing her country at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

References

  1. "Nina Kennedy". gc2018.com. Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  2. "Commonwealth Games 2018: WA pole vaulter Nina Kennedy bounces back from tough time" Archived 6 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine by Steve Butler, The West Australian , 26 February 2018
  3. "Nina Kennedy". World Athletics. 17 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  4. Kimlin, Jasmine (15 March 2021). "Nina Kennedy Jumps Into the Record Books". Presbyterian Ladies' College. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Nina Kennedy". Australian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  6. "West Aussies eliminated in pole vault controversy". The West Australian. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  7. "WA vault star's incredible record night". 13 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  8. "Kennedy completes stunning turnaround with pole vault gold". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  9. "Nina Kennedy shares pole vault gold in thrilling world athletics championships final". ABCNews. Retrieved 24 August 2023.