Molly Caudery, winner of the pole vault at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24 (© Getty Images)
After three world leads since the turn of the year, Molly Caudery made sure she finished on top of the global pile when it mattered most, rising magnificently to the occasion of the women’s pole vault final on a night of high drama at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24.
While the longer established leading lights of the event faltered around her, the 23-year-old Briton kept her cool, emerging victorious from what came down to a test of nerve and technique between herself and New Zealander Eliza McCartney, alongside whom she trains at Loughborough University under the direction of the same coach, Scott Simpson.
After Olympic and double world champion Katie Moon of the US registered three failures at 4.80m, leaving her with the bronze medal, only Caudery and McCartney were left standing.
Both had fought to overcome adversity to get into that position. Caudery almost severed an index finger in an accident in her local gym and underwent the last of three operations last year, before making her mark with a fifth-place finish at the World Championships in Budapest.
Before the bar had been raised to 4.80m, she was lying joint second with Moon, both having needed two attempts to negotiate 4.75m.
McCartney was in pole position with a first time success at that height.
After battling achilles and calf injuries for the best part of three years, the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist returned to form with a 4.84m world lead in Lievin on 10 February, a mark subsequently eclipsed by Caudery – the early-season leader – with 4.85m in Birmingham and 4.86m in Rouen.
At 4.80m in Glasgow, though, McCartney needed all three attempts, Caudery just two.
McCartney gambled at 4.85m, electing to pass after failing with her first two attempts. Caudery had a nervous wait after drawing three blanks but McCartney was unable to clear the bar with either of her two shots at 4.90m.
All of which left the crowd celebrating a second British gold of the night, in the wake of Josh Kerr’s 3000m victory.
It was Britain’s first world indoor success in a field event since Yamile Aldama’s triple jump gold in Istanbul in 2012. The only other victories all came in the same event, courtesy of Ashia Hansen in 1999 and 2003 and Phillips Idowu in 2008.
“I’m living my dream,” said Caudery. “I honestly can’t believe I’m a world champion in an Olympic year.
“To go from injury to world level was hard enough. To be a world indoor champion is astonishing to me. It's not sunk in.
“It was so, so special. I'm loving absolutely every single moment of this journey.”
McCartney was gracious in defeat, happy to have made the podium after placing fifth in 2016 and fourth in 2018.
“It warms my heart for Molly to win in front of a phenomenal home crowd,” said the Aucklander.
“It was an amazing competition and I'm just so happy to have been part of it. Women's pole vault is so strong just now.
“It's wild to win a medal as I haven't done that in a very long time.”
The first major casualty came before the competition started. Joint third on the world list with a Canadian record of 4.83m, Commonwealth champion Alysha Newman suffered an injury in warm-up – an unhappy return to the city in which she made her mark with Commonwealth bronze ten years ago.
The second was Wilma Murto, the European champion and world bronze medallist. Hampered by a foot injury, the Finn needed three attempts to scrape over 4.55m and then retired hurt.
Then, at 4.65m, Margot Chevrier of France suffered a cruel injury with her first attempt.
The 24-year-old got stuck on her pole in mid-air before crashing down into the take-off pit.
In obvious pain, she received oxygen before being carefully lifted on to a medical cart and departing the arena to sympathetic applause.
Chevrier and Murto finished joint eighth with 4.55m. Behind the medal winning trio, Switzerland’s 2021 European indoor champion Angelica Moser took a fine fourth placing, equalling her PB with 4.75m.
Then came two-time champion Sandi Morris of the US, who cleared 4.65m first time, and European indoor bronze medallist Amalie Svabikova of the Czech Republic, who nailed the same height at the third time of asking.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics
| WOMEN'S POLE VAULT MEDALLISTS | ||
| 🥇 | Molly Caudery 🇬🇧 GBR | 4.80m |
| 🥈 | Eliza McCartney 🇳🇿 NZL | 4.80m |
| 🥉 | Katie Moon 🇺🇸 USA | 4.75m |
| Full results | ||
