Olympic pole vault champion Nina Kennedy grounded following hamstring surgery
Olympic pole gold medallist Nina Kennedy is hoping to still be able to defend her world title in Tokyo despite facing months on the sideline after going under the knife.
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Olympic pole vault champion Nina Kennedy will be sidelined for up to three months following hamstring surgery.
The Paris hero has struggled with the issue since returning to training in January and decided to go under the knife following expert medical advice.
Kennedy, 28, is hoping to still be able to defend her world title in Tokyo in September.
She revealed on social media her struggles with the latest setback: “Injuries suckkk (sic) so much. Lucky I’ve never had to deal with anything too bad.
“I’ve been struggling with wrapping my head around this one , , I don’t believe things happen for a reason but in times like this I wish I did believe that.”
Kennedy courageously battled a broken back to win the Olympic gold medal in Paris, revealing in the lead-up she had a stress fracture in her L5 and L4.
The injury had flared again — the third time in as many years — three months out from the Games. The same thing had happened before her world title victory in Budapest in 2023.
But the hamstring problem became a pressing issue in recent months with the surgery seen as the best long-term option.
Australian Athletics high-performance manager Andrew Faichney said the procedure was to guard against the injury repeating.
“Historically they wouldn’t have done surgery but with the advancement in technology this is seen as the best course of action,” Faichney said.
“It is all about helping her longer term recovery and shouldn’t be an issue looking ahead to the world championships.”
Kennedy had spoken about her struggles to regain the passion after fulfilling her lifelong dream of winning the Olympic gold medal which she did with a clearance of 4.90m.
When she returned to training in January, the West Australian revealed she was “nervous” coming back.
“To be honest I was nervous coming back to jumping because I was scared of how my motivation levels would be,” Kennedy said.
“Good news, they haven’t disappeared entirely.
“I actually felt the same amount of love for jumping as I did at the Olympics as soon as I picked up my pole.
“The stress fracture in my back has always forced me to take a big break after the season, and I think it’s been a blessing in disguise.
“Time away to rest, reset and fall back in love with the process is a big yes from me.”
The spotlight in the pole vault at this weekend’s Australian Championships in Perth will now switch to Kennedy’s training partner Kurtis Marschall who returns from the international indoor season looking to break the magical six-metre barrier on his home track.
Another field event highlight will be the showdown in the women’s high-jump between Paris Olympic medallists Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson.
Originally published as Olympic pole vault champion Nina Kennedy grounded following hamstring surgery
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