Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon dragged into furore over shared gold medal at World Champs

Australia’s new world champion Nina Kennedy has been caught up in a ‘shameful’ furore just days after her incredible gesture.

Katie Moon and Nina Kennedy caught up in ‘shameful’ furore. (Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP)

Australia’s newest world champion Nina Kennedy has been caught up in a “shameful” furore just days after her incredible gesture at the world athletics championships.

Kennedy and Moon had both cleared the same height of 4.90m, before they each failed to clear three attempts at 4.95m.

The Aussie then raised the idea of sharing gold which the American happily accepted, prompting an outflow of tears.

The act of kindness from Moon mirrored an unforgettable moment at the Tokyo Olympics when Italy‘s Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim agreed to share the high-jump gold medal.

“We were out there for such a long time, we were pushing each other to the absolute limit,“ Kennedy said.

“Katie is the world champion, she is the Olympic gold medallist, I didn’t think she would want to share it. I thought we might need to keep jumping.

“But I kind of looked at her and said, ‘Hey girl you maybe wanna share this?’ and the relief you could see it on her face and you could see it on my face and it was mutual.

“Absolutely incredible to share a gold medal with Katie Moon. We have been friends for so long, so super special.”

Kennedy and Moon after agreeing to share gold. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Despite the incredible scenes, the two athletes have been subjected to widespread criticism with fans slamming the notion of sharing a gold medal. American sprint king Michael Johnson questioned the rule after retweeting a post of the two athletes.

“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 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.

Moon hit back at the critics. (Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP)

“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.”

Kennedy became Australia’s first women’s pole vault champion while it was Australia‘s second medal of the championships, coming days after Jemima Montag took the silver in the women’s 20km walk.