Pole Vault Raiders Aiming High

Western Australia’s elite pole vaulters are gate-crashing this weekend’s Queensland State Championships as the lead up to April’s Australian Athletics Championships intensifies.

With the women’s pole vault event at the Queensland titles doubling as the Brisbane leg of the national track classic series, WAIS athletes Liz Parnov, Nina Kennedy and Emma Philippe will look to build their encouraging early season domestic form.

Kennedy has bolted to the forefront of national attention in recent times, having broken a world junior record at last month’s Perth Track Classic, whilst Parnov, an Olympic and World Championship representative, is honing in on the A-Qualifying height of 4.50m that would earn her selection for this year’s world titles in Beijing.

Former WAIS athlete and Brisbane home town favourite Alana Boyd said this week that she too is aiming for the qualifying mark to join Kennedy – whose recent 4.59m clearance sits her atop the Australian rankings for 2015 – with a qualifying height for the World Championships.

“It’s a great concept this weekend, with State Championships combined with the Track Classic, and I’m really looking forward to competing. For me, the qualifying mark is what I’m chasing most, but to win the gold as well would be ideal,” Boyd said.

“The goal domestically has been to get the 4.50m done and dusted and I plan to make that happen. I have my sights set on a win at the Nationals too.”

The Queensland Track Classic is held on Saturday 7 March, whilst the State Championships run from Thursday to Sunday.