Pole vault winner Nina Kennedy at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich (© AFP / Getty Images)
A week after they shared the most heart-warming moment of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, pole vaulters Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon were back in the heat of battle at the Weltklasse meeting as the Wanda Diamond League resumed in Zurich on Wednesday (30).
But there was no sharing the gold this time as Kennedy found a little extra height in the wake of her first world title win, clearing an Oceanian and Australian indoor record of 4.91m, one centimetre more than the national record she set in Budapest.
The two vaulters staged another thrilling contest, but in a very different location from last week’s championships stadium. This time they were competing at the Zurich Hauptbahnhof, the city’s cavernous main train station, surrounded by thousands of raucous fans and early evening commuters.
Zurich generally stages a ‘city event’ as a prelude to the main stadium event the following day and this year it was the women’s pole vault that was given the city stage.
The field included the top seven women from the World Championships final, all facing the challenge of backing up just days after their major event of the year.
Finland’s world bronze medallist Wilma Murto exited the competition early this time, missing her three attempts at 4.51m. She later admitted that she felt physically and emotionally drained after breaking through to win her first global medal in Budapest.
Slovenia’s Tina Sutej, who set a national record of 4.80m to finish in fourth place in Budapest, failed at 4.66m this time.
That left five women in the contest, but home favourite Angelica Moser and rising Briton Molly Caudery could not clear 4.76m, and the field was reduced to three as the bar rose to 4.81m.
World indoor champion Sandi Morris has had a tough year and finished only seventh in Budapest, after three successive silver medals at global level. But the 31-year-old US vaulter found a remnant of her usual form in Zurich to move into the top three with a third-time clearance of 4.76m (her best this season).
She was finally eliminated at 4.86m, which Kennedy cleared at the first attempt to keep the competition lead.
Meanwhile, Moon employed a minimalist strategy, making just two jumps, clearances at 4.66m and 4.81m, before reaching the deciding height of 4.86m, where she had one miss before moving up to try to stay with her Australian rival.
Kennedy had rattled the bar with her first-time clearance at 4.86m and again gave it a good smack at 4.91m, but the bar refused to drop and that sealed her victory, her second in a row in Zurich, home to one of the sport’s most historic one-day meetings.
"I am really surprised, and I am so happy,” Kennedy said .“I love Zurich.”
“I honestly didn’t expect that today. I came here to have fun and it all worked out.”
This performance also lifted her to No.6 on the world indoor all-time list.
Kennedy will now return home to Perth in Australia as a world champion for the first time, before travelling to Eugene for the Diamond League final on 16-17 September, where she is the defending champion.
Moon and Morris will be waiting for her, with home advantage, after taking the top two medals at last year’s World Championships at Hayward Field.
Morris said she “really needed this” performance to regain some confidence for the rest of the season.
“I dealt with some of my own demons after having a really rough season. With the Diamond League final coming up, I am trying to go out with a bang.”
Nicole Jeffery for World Athletics
