‘Unbelievable’: Nicola McDermott breaks Australian high jump record

Ahead of her maiden Olympic Games, Nicola McDermott has achieved something no other Australian woman managed before her.

Aussie Olympian Nicola McDermott has set a new national high jump record, becoming the first Australian woman to break the two-metre barrier.

Competing at the Australian Track and Field Championships in Sydney on Sunday, McDermott cleared 2.00m on her second attempt to better the previous Oceania record of 1.99m set by Eleanor Patterson in February 2020.

Kayo is your ticket to the best sport streaming Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

The 24-year-old then had three unsuccessful attempts at 2.03m, but had already done more than enough to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics track-and-field team.

Patterson was unfortunately absent from the weekend’s action at Sydney Olympic Park due to injury.

Nicola McDermott competes in the Women's High Jump Final.

Nicola McDermott celebrates winning the Women's High Jump Final.

“I knew in my body I could do a lot higher, but the fear aspect of high jump is the thing that gets to you with the mind,” McDermott said after the event.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, because I’m still so in the zone because I know in order to get the gold in Tokyo you need to jump higher than two metres.

“I was really happy with it. Psychologically I wasn’t scared and if you’re not scared, you can jump so high.

“The world record is 2.09m. So I mean if you’re not scared of it, why not just go for it.

“We have all the building blocks in place. It is just a matter of building, I know my roots are good, I know I’ve got good strength, it’s just now adding to that.

“I’m not going to expect big heights, I’m going to make sure that there is big heights. I’m not going to give a reason for why they wouldn’t come.

“That’s the process I am going to replicate for Tokyo hopefully.”

‘AUSTRALIAN RECORD for Nicola McDermott, becoming the first Australian woman to clear 2 meters! Absolute chills in the stadium, unbelievable moment. #ThisIsAthletics ‘ 👏🏻 ... nice bit of ‘Commonwealth’ athletics news this morning! @birminghamcg22 😉🤗 https://t.co/khzFkd9KhP

— Katharine Merry (@KatharineMerry) April 18, 2021

McDermott won bronze in the high jump event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and has cemented her spot as a genuine medal contender in Tokyo.

Comparatively, Spanish athlete Ruth Beitia won gold at the 2016 Games in Rio by clearing 1.97m.

Meanwhile, discus thrower Dani Stevens became the first Australian to win the same event 14 times at national level, recording a best throw of 62.74m.

“I’m back to as close to 100 per cent as I could have hoped for,” Stevens said.

“I feel like I have some power and velocity in my arm, which if I wasn’t close to 100 per cent then I wouldn’t have.”

Athletics Australia announced an initial selection of 20 athletes for Tokyo on Sunday afternoon, 12 of which will be making their maiden Olympic appearance this year, including McDermott.

Nicola McDermott.

Tokyo Olympics track-and-field team (as of Sunday, April 18)

Rohan Browning — 100m

Jye Edwards — 1500m

Kurtis Marschall — pole vault

Cedric Dubler — decathlon

Ash Moloney — decathlon

Riley Day — 200m

Bendere Oboya — 400m

Catriona Bisset — 800m

Linden Hall — 1500m

Liz Clay — 100m hurdles

Genevieve Gregson — 3000m steeplechase

Nicola McDermott — high jump

Brooke Stratton — long jump

Nina Kennedy — pole vault

Dani Stevens — discus

Stewart McSweyn — 5000m and 10,000m

Dane Bird-Smith — 20km walk

Jessica Hull — 5000m

Jemima Montag — 20km walk

Kelsey Lee-Barber — javelin