How Little Aths, Steve Hooker’s coach set Nina Kennedy on a path to Olympic gold

The Olympic gold medallist reveals how she was discovered, what was going through her head during the pole vault final, and why the future is bright for Aussie track and field.

Olympic gold medallist Nina Kennedy meets Little Athletics participants Sammy, Benji, Heidi and Jack from Sandringham Little Athletics Club. Picture: Martin Keep/Coles

It isn’t exaggerating to say Little Athletics changed Nina Kennedy’s life.

The Olympic gold medallist pole vaulter’s decorated career began when Steve Hooker’s then-coach scouted her at a competition at age 12.

While pole vault isn’t a Little Aths discipline, Kennedy’s co-ordination and running speed caught the scout’s eye. Her enthusiasm inevitably did, too.

“I genuinely loved Little Athletics,” she said. “I would look forward to every Saturday and Wednesday training, getting outside with my friends on a sunny day, trying new things and learning new skills.

“I was just at a competition one day and I got scouted. So I went to this ‘go try pole vault day’ and the rest is history.”

Kennedy went on to make history in Paris by becoming the first Australian to win pole vault gold since Hooker in 2008, and the first woman to win gold in an Olympic field event.

The 27-year-old is now throwing her support behind the next generation of athletes. She joined four fellow Olympians – legendary hurdler Sally Pearson, discus star Matt Denny, javelin champ Kelsey-Lee Barber and high jumper Brandon Starc – to launch Coles’ Little Athletics Banana A-Peel in Melbourne.

Matt Denny, Nina Kennedy, Sally Pearson, Kelsey-Lee Barber and Brandon Starc at the Keilor Little Athletics Club in Melbourne, to launch Coles’ Banana A-Peel. Picture: Martin Keep/Coles

From October 16 to 22, Coles will donate 10 cents to Little Athletics Australia for every kilogram of Cavendish bananas sold, to a maximum of $150,000. The funds will help grassroots clubs and centres purchase new sports equipment.

Coles Little Athletics Australia chief executive Myles Foreman reported “a surge in interest for kids to join Little Athletics programs this season”, driven by the success in Paris of athletes like Kennedy and bronze medallist Denny, and the fact Brisbane 2032 was on the horizon.

Kennedy said Australia’s best-ever track and field medal haul at the recent World Under 20 Championships also indicated the future was bright.

“That crop of kids will be going on to Brisbane,” she said. “That will be so exciting to watch.”

The 2023 World Champion said her life hadn’t changed too much since Paris, apart from the fact she had become more recognisable.

“What is really cool is I will forever be an Olympic champ, no one can take that away from me,” she said.

Her post-Paris activities had included a brief return home to Perth, three Diamond Leagues competitions in Europe shortly afterwards – and watching her Olympics triumph a couple of times.

Nina Kennedy competing in the pole vault final at the Paris Olympic Games Paris, at Stade de France. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Kennedy cleared 4.9m to win gold in the event, becoming the first Australian woman to do so. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“The night was obviously a blur,” she said. “Everything goes so quickly, you’re so focused that you actually kind of forget what happened during the competition.

“So I had to watch it back. And I was like, ‘wow, I was so focused’. Because that’s not what was going on in my head at the time.

“I felt really nervous on the day. But what really stood out (when I was watching it) was that I had this really cool, calm, collected look in my face. I literally had my blinkers on and I had such extreme tunnel vision, and you can really see that on the TV.”

Kennedy will now take a well-earned break, visiting her sister near Byron Bay and visiting Tasmania with her partner before returning to training in November ahead of the Australian domestic track and field season.

“We have quite a few good competitions early in the year – and our nationals are actually in Perth in April, so I’ll have to make an appearance in my hometown,” she said.

“Then the international competitions all start up again in May, so that will be the real focus.”

More than 480 Little Athletics centres have received sports equipment grants from the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund since 2018, to the value of $2.5m. Find out more at: coles.com.au/littleathleticsfund

Originally published as How Little Aths, Steve Hooker’s coach set Nina Kennedy on a path to Olympic gold