Kennedy Wins Australian Junior Championship

The stunning season of WAIS athlete Nina Kennedy has continued at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships at Sydney Olympic Park, with the 17-year-old soaring to 4.50m, a Beijing 2015 qualifier, to win gold at in the girl’s under 20 pole vault.

Entering the competition at 4.00m, Kennedy sailed over the height with her first jump before passing at 4.10m and on second attempt clearing 4.20m. She then made light work of 4.40m and the IAAF World Championships mark, before raising the bar to what would have been a world junior record of 4.64m. She unfortunately missed her three gallant attempts at a new world mark.

Kennedy was delighted to deliver the performance she did given the trying conditions at Sydney Olympic Park today. She has consistency on her mind for the remainder of her Australian Athletics Tour campaign, and with the IAAF Melbourne World Challenge and 93rd Australian Athletics Championships around the corner she hopes that the world junior record will come.

“The wind and the chance of rain made it strange out there. It was nice to pull it all together. It was a bit like Perth. I came into it a little bit uneasy but when it is like that I focus on the routine and what I have to do, rather than thinking about the result, and that helped me a lot. I’ve just been learning so much from these experiences,” Kennedy said.

“This gives me so much confidence. Doing this here gives me a big boost before Nationals in Brisbane. Today was the first time I attempted the 4.64 height. I know that it is there. I just have to get it now. There is no pressure about that height for me, it’s not a qualifier, it would just be a great achievement. I try to keep it fun when I’m up that high.”

Kennedy shared the podium with her WAIS training partner Emma Philippe (second, 4.10m) and the IAAF World Youth Championships bound Phillipa Hajdasz (Vic, third, 3.85m).

Philippe has jumped strongly this Australian Athletics Tour as well, clearing 4.30m at the Western Australia Athletics Championships last month and she will also compete in the coming fortnight in Melbourne and Brisbane.

-AthleticsAus