Path to Paris: Molly Caudery

The road to sporting glory often leads through ups and downs. Along the way, there are key milestones that every athlete passes.

In the latest instalment of a new series where athletes reflect on five key steps on their path to the Paris Olympic Games, British pole vaulter Molly Caudery recounts the journey that has got her to this point in her career.

 

I did gymnastics from the age of four…

…When I was 11 I went to my local athletics track and I tried every single event there was – hurdles, high jump, long jump, everything – and then I tried pole vault and fell in love with it. I was around 15 when I specialised in the pole vault and took it more seriously.

I grew up in Cornwall in the south-west of England and took part in all the county championships. I remember doing one event in school and I was by far the youngest. It was actually a cross country and my dad was my coach. He said: ‘just go out and run as fast as you can’. I was against all these big girls and he saw this little figure running down, miles in front of everyone. I won that race and that was kind of when I knew I could maybe do something. In pole vault, I was doing all the U13 and U15 championships and I knew it was what I wanted to do. 

I remember being 13 or 14 years old and not winning our nationals. I think I came second, and I went home that night and made a whole plan. I wrote down every single thing I was going to do, so I would never lose again. I think that shows my competitiveness! 

 

Winning the World Indoor Championships was a huge turning point for me… 

…It made me reevaluate my whole year, in a way. Getting my first Diamond League win was also important, and getting used to being on top of my game on the world circuit, not just as an U15 at nationals. But it’s no different, it just has higher stakes, really. 

Of course, the first goal of any competition is to win and then you start thinking about the heights. But where I am right now, I do have numbers in my head and heights I want to jump and if I jump those heights, the win is probably going to come with them. 

We are all super close in the pole vault and I want the best for everyone. Pole vault, at the end of the day, is me against the bar. I just want to jump as high as I can – whether that gets me the win or not will come from the heights. There is definitely a great camaraderie. There is that competitiveness on the track, but as soon as we step off that runway, it’s back to being friends.

 

Breaking the British record with 4.92m was so unexpected…

…That was maybe something I was looking to do in three or four years’ time. To have done it already, the next bar I am looking at after that is five metres and that is absolutely crazy to be thinking about, but very exciting.

I was a 4.75m jumper last year and this year I’ve gone over 4.80m eight times. So just to have progressed as fast as I have, I’d say 4.80m was still a huge milestone for me. I’ve been injury free for a whole winter season. I managed to train a lot and gain that consistency. That has shown in competition, and has allowed me to do what I have been doing.

 

I have learnt so much during times of adversity and injury…

I chopped my finger pretty much entirely off at the end of 2021. I was in the gym and as I brought the bar down, I caught my finger between the bar and the rack. I went through quite a long rehab process. It was quite traumatic as I had been in really good shape and had been looking forward to the next year. I recovered really well, I just tried to stay mentally positive and I ended up having a pretty good season – I did the World Championships and the European Championships, and got second at the Commonwealths Games. But then I had two achilles surgeries and that was a really big setback for me. It was a six-month rehab and as soon as I got back to running, I had to have the second achilles surgery in the March. I ended up coming back and jumping 4.75m to finish fifth at the World Championships, which was a turning point and breakthrough in my career.

Those times of adversity made me stronger. I think it has made me a better athlete. I’ve definitely struggled mentally over the years. In the pole vault you can get mental blocks of running through or not wanting to take a bigger pole and it is so technical. When I was injured, I did so much imagery. Because pole vault is quite tough on the body, I only jump about once a week. When I was injured, I thought about it non-stop. Just seeing the vault over and over in my head, every single day, I think made me a way better vaulter when I could start again. I was seeing me doing the perfect jump and when I came back, lots of my bad habits had actually gone. That’s something I’ve taken away from it, and I still do it now.

 

I have brief memories of the Olympics in 2008…

…I would have been eight years old, watching the gymnastics because that’s what I did then. But 2012 I remember so well. I didn’t get to go and watch in person but I remember it being on at my grandma’s house and Usain Bolt was about to run in the final of the 100m. I hid behind the sofa because I was so nervous for him! And Super Saturday – Jess Ennis-Hill is my biggest idol in sport and I remember her winning and even then thinking: ‘I want that to be me one day’. Now I’ve got the opportunity to at least give it a go. 

It is absolutely a dream come true. Any athlete’s dream is to go to the Olympics – to have a shot at going for a medal, even the gold, just means so much to me. To know that there are going to be people and little girls around the world looking up to me – if I just get to inspire one person, that almost means more than anything.