Nina Kennedy backtracks on stance after sharing gold medal at world champs
It was labelled one of the greatest moments of sportsmanship this year - but it will not be repeated in Paris after a shock backflip from Nina Kennedy.
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Aussie star Nina Kennedy has revealed a new cutthroat attitude towards being number one in the pole vaulting world after copping criticism for sharing a gold medal with American Katie Moon at the world championships in Budapest in August.
Just one week after she boosted her claims as the best pole-vaulter in the world with a stand-alone victory at the Zurich Diamond League – Kennedy declared she would not choose to share a gold medal at next year’s Paris Olympics.
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“I’ve had a week to think about it, and I’ll definitely keep thinking about it in the next few weeks, but I think maybe next year if the exact same thing happened (as what occurred in Budapest) in Paris at the Olympics, I don’t think I would share,” she told Channel 9’s ‘Sports Sunday’ program.
“I think it just really sums up where I’m at in my career and then maybe in the future I will want that individual title.”
Kennedy’s dominance was clear in Zurich as she won the pole vault event with a jump of 4.91 metres – in doing so she claimed a meet record, Oceania record and a personal best.
“I am really surprised! And I am so happy. This is all my dreams come true, I love Zurich,” Kennedy said in Zurich.
“Now I will fly home to Australia before travelling to Eugene where I hope to win the final,” she said in reference to the Diamond League finals in Oregon on September 16-17.
It appears her incredible form prompted a rethink or her attitude to chasing individual awards in her sport, potentially coupled with some of the criticism she and Moon received after their decision to share a gold medal in Budapest on August 24.
The 26-year-old Aussie and Moon, who won Olympic gold in Tokyo two years ago and took the 2022 world title in Eugene, were criticised by some pundits and fans for deciding to share gold after they both cleared a height of 4.90m in the Hungarian capital.
They both then failed to clear 4.95m before Kennedy asked Moon if she would share the gold medal – with the American star happily accepting the offer rather than continuing to jump to work out a clear winner.
Despite the gesture of classy sportsmanship, Kennedy and Moon were also criticised by some for failing to fight to the bitter end to crown an individual winner – with some even calling the lack of competitiveness ‘shameful’ and ‘pathetic’.
American sprint king Michael Johnson triggered the outcry after he questioned the decision with a photo of the two athletes on social media.
“Fans, do you like the shared gold concept? If you answer yes, second question is will you still like it if it becomes more common?” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Moon, a two-time world champ and Tokyo gold medallist, took to social media to hit back at critics with a scathing response.
“While part of me doesn’t want to entertain the negative comments, I would like to help enlighten those that are calling us “cowards”, “shameful”, “pathetic” etc,” Moon wrote.
“I know you can’t make everyone happy in this world, but in an effort to help people understand the sport that I love so much, I would like to explain my mentality in that moment.
“The pole vault is not an endurance event. We have a short window of jumps. Once the fatigue sets in, it not only becomes more difficult, but dangerous.
“The sport has seen everything from athletes just landing funny with minor tweaks, to horrific accidents. We had jumped an entire competition, vaulting for almost 4 hours in 85 degree heat. The competition ended, and we were exhausted.
“A World Championship is incredibly emotionally draining – even more so than a regular competition. My step (the point where I jump off the ground into the takeoff) to vault safely has to be in almost the exact same spot every time, give or take a few inches.
“My last few jumps, that takeoff step was moving further and further out, giving us real data showing my fatigue even with the adrenaline. To walk away healthy and with a gold medal, while celebrating with my friend that had jumped just as well, was a no-brainer.
“Part of the reason we’ve reached the highest level is by listening to our bodies, and knowing our limitations.
“We decided that in this particular moment, sharing glory was just as good as earning it outright. I understand that people want to see a clear winner. It is the most exciting part of sport. But in this instance, it was without a doubt the right decisions, and one that I will never regret.
“Contrary to popular belief, you do not need a “win at all cost” mindset to have a champion’s mentality.”
Australian Olympic gold medallist pole vaulter Steve Hooker called Kennedy’s decision to share gold “brilliant”.
“I think to get to that point, to have exhausted your competition and to have finished tied with someone, particularly tied with someone that you’ve got a lot of respect for, it’s an amazing result,” Hooker told Wide World of Sports.
“If it’s two people that dip and cross the line together in a 100 metres, for example, and they call a tie, it’s a dead heat, they share the medal, no one’s saying go and race 100 metres again.
“It’s within the rules that they can split the medal. If they’re tied at the end of the competition you can’t make them run in and keep taking jumps. If they’re comfortable with that position at the end of the competition it’s within their rights to make that decision.
“I think it’s a beautiful moment in sport.”
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