• Marie-Julie Bonnin bids for back-to-back world indoor titles
• Eliza McCartney could prove tough to beat if reproducing recent form
• Medal battle looks wide open with little to separate the leading contenders

Few events at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 2026 look as open as the women’s pole vault, with just five centimetres separating the five leading entrants on their season’s bests.

Topping that list is New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney, who shot to fame at the 2016 Olympics 10 years ago by earning bronze at the age of 19. In the years since, she has produced a slew of strong performances on this stage, finishing fifth in the world indoor final in 2016, fourth in 2018 and taking silver at the 2024 edition in Glasgow.

After struggling with injury last year, she bounced back strongly in 2026, clearing 4.81m to win the national title in Auckland earlier this month and while this will be her first indoor competition in two years, the 29-year-old looks poised to make it a good one.

France’s Marie-Julie Bonnin produced a national record of 4.76m to win the world indoor title in Nanjing last year and the 24-year-old proved she’s ready to launch a stout defence of her title by clearing the same height at the World Indoor Tour Silver meeting in Clermont-Ferrand last month.

Molly Caudery beat McCartney to gold in the 2024 world indoor final, the British star breaking the national record outdoors later that year with 4.92m. After being unable to compete at the 2025 World Championships due to an ankle injury sustained during her warm-up, she made a strong start to 2026, winning the British indoor title with 4.65m before clearing 4.70m to win in Rouen, France.

Slovenia’s Tina Sutej has twice won medals on this stage, taking bronze in 2022 and silver last year, and the 37-year-old has shown consistent form through the indoor season – her best effort being a 4.80m clearance to win in Metz, France last month.

Czechia’s Amalie Svabikova has gone close to global medals on several occasions in recent years, finishing fifth and sixth at the last two World Indoor Championships, fourth in last year’s world final in Tokyo and fifth in the 2024 Olympic final in Paris. The 2018 world U20 champion is expected to launch another bold bid after clearing a national indoor record of 4.76m in Clermont-Ferrand last month.

New Zealand’s Imogen Ayris has gone over 4.70m at four different competitions during the indoor season and she added six centimetres to her PB when clearing 4.76m in Clermont-Ferrand. A repeat of that could see her claim her first global medal, having previously reached the 2024 Olympic final and 2025 world final.

Switzerland’s Angelica Moser took bronze in last year’s world indoor final and while she made a late start to the indoor season earlier this month, it was a strong showing, clearing 4.66m to win the national indoor title.

USA has won three of the past five world indoor titles and in the absence of world leader Hana Moll, their hopes will be led by Chloe Timberg, the 2024 NCAA champion who cleared 4.70m to win the US indoor title earlier this month.

The field is completed by Estonia’s Marleen Mulla, Brazil’s Juliana de Menis Campos, Finland’s Wilma Murto and USA’s Jessica Mercier. Mulla, a student at the University of South Dakota in the US, has the best clearance among them this year. The 24-year-old twice broke the national record with 4.60m and 4.63m before earning silver with a 4.61m clearance at last weekend’s NCAA Indoor Championships.

Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

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