Nina Kennedy (born 5 April 1997) is an Australian

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who holds the national record in the pole vault. She competed in the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

and won gold in the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

and the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships ( hu, 2023-as atlétikai világbajnokság), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, are scheduled to be held from 19 August to 27 August 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. The city of Budapes ...

Early years

Kennedy was born in

Busselton Busselton is a city in the South West region of the state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destination for Western Australians; however, the closure of the Busselton ...

, three hours south of Perth. Her family moved to Perth and she completed primary school there. When she was 11 years old she joined her first club, Perry Lakes Little Athletics. Kennedy started pole vaulting one year later after a pole vault coach identified her talent at an athletics meet. In 2012, aged 14, Kennedy placed second in the senior Australian pole vault championships with a personal best of 4.10m. A year later she set a best of 4.31m and placed fifth at the IAAF World Youth (U18) Championships. At the 2014 IAAF World Juniors, she vaulted a personal best of 4.40m, just missing a medal to finish fourth.

Senior career

In February 2015 in Perth, Kennedy cleared 4.43m, then 4.50m and finally 4.59m – a world junior record. This qualified her for the 2015 World Championships in Beijing but she failed to clear the opening height in the qualification round. In 2018, Kennedy raised her personal best to 4.60m and a week later moved to number three Australian all-time with a vault of 4.71m. At the National Championships she vaulted a 4.60m and defeated New Zealand's Olympic bronze medallist

Eliza McCartney Eliza McCartney (born 11 December 1996) is a New Zealand track and field athlete who competes in the pole vault and won the bronze medal in this event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is the current New Zealand and Oceania record holder at , a ...

. At the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Kennedy won bronze. In early 2020, Kennedy cleared her second-best ever height of 4.61m and was consistent with eight consecutive competitions at 4.70m or higher. At the

Kennedy jumped while injured, with a 4.40m clearance that placed 12th in her qualifier. Kennedy raised the Australian record to 4.82m at the 2021 Sydney Track Classic. At the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

, Kennedy won bronze with a clearance of 4.80m. This clearance saw Kennedy achieve the highest jump by an Australian at a World Athletics Championships, surpassing

Alana Boyd Alana Quade ( Boyd, born 10 May 1984) is a former Australian pole vaulter and Olympian. Athletic career The 2008 Australian Champion, Boyd was selected for the 2007 World Championships, but did not make the final. She did not make the fina ...

's mark of 4.60m achieved at the

2015 World Athletics Championships The 2015 IAAF World Championships ( zh, 第十五届世界田径锦标赛), the fifteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 22 to 30 August at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. Forty-three nations won medals, 144 of ...

held in Beijing. The next month, at the

, Kennedy won gold with a clearance of 4.60m. At the

, Kennedy won gold with a clearance of 4.90m, which she shared with the American athlete Katie Moon.

Competition record

References

External links

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Nina Kennedy
at Athletics Australia
Nina Kennedy
at Australian Athletics Historical Results {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Nina 1997 births Living people Australian female pole vaulters World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia Athletes from Perth, Western Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Australia 21st-century Australian women 21st-century Australian people Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Sportswomen from Western Australia Diamond League winners World Athletics Championships winners Australian Athletics Championships winners