Australian pole vaulter Nina Kennedy has reached new heights with a personal-best 4.95m leap at the Monaco Diamond League meet on Friday night, setting a new Australian record and the best women's pole vault performance globally in the last five years.
Record-Breaking Performance in Monte Carlo
The 29-year-old cleared 4.95m under the lights of Monte Carlo, a venue she calls one of her favourites, to dominate the competition. The jump places her fifth on the all-time list for women's pole vault.
“I know that I am in really good shape and pole vault is so technical, and I just had to put everything all together,” Kennedy said. “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.”
Confidence High Ahead of Commonwealth Games
The timing of her record is ideal as she prepares to defend her Commonwealth Games title in Glasgow, which begins in less than two weeks. Kennedy has set a new goal: jumping 5 metres.
“I genuinely believe that I can jump 5m, 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 5m is here.”
Overcoming Injury Setbacks
Kennedy's journey has been marked by injuries, including a hamstring problem that forced her to take 12 months off last year. She credits those struggles with building resilience.
“I would say through those seven years of struggles, I just showed up,” she said. “That taught me a lot of resilience. 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.”
Other Australian Results at Monaco
Fellow West Australian Kurtis Marschall took bronze in the men's pole vault with 5.85m. World record holder Mondo DuPlantis won the event with a meet record of 6.07m. In the women's javelin, Australian Mackenzie Little finished fifth (57.67m), while Chinese star Yan Ziyi won with 68.75m. Ky Robinson placed 11th in the men's 5000m with a time of 13:26.70.
