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Nina Kennedy

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For the American pianist and conductor, see Nina Gamble Kennedy.

Nina Kennedy
Personal information
NationalityAustralian
Born (1997-04-05) 5 April 1997 (age 27)
Busselton, Western Australia
EducationUniversity of Notre Dame Australia
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportAthletics
EventPole vault
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • Outdoor: 4.91 m (2023 NR)
  • Indoor: 4.60 m (2018)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Pole vault
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Budapest Pole vault
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Eugene Pole vault
Diamond League
First place 2022 Pole vault
First place 2024 Pole vault
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Pole Vault
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast Pole Vault

Nina Kennedy (born 5 April 1997)[2] is an Australian athlete who holds the national record in the pole vault.[3] She won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, 2023 World Athletics Championships (shared with American Katie Moon) and at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Early years

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Kennedy was born in Busselton, 225 kilometres (140 mi) south of Perth. Her family moved to Perth and she completed primary school there. She attended secondary school at PLC Perth.[4] 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.[5]

Senior career

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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.[5]

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 2020 Tokyo Olympics Kennedy jumped while injured, with a 4.40m clearance that placed 12th in her qualifier.[6]

Kennedy raised the Australian record to 4.82m at the 2021 Sydney Track Classic.[7]

At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, 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's mark of 4.60m achieved at the 2015 World Athletics Championships held in Beijing. The next month, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Kennedy won gold with a clearance of 4.60m.[8]

At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Kennedy won gold with a clearance of 4.90m, which she shared with the American athlete Katie Moon.[9]

Competition record

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  Australia
2013 World Youth Championships Donetsk, Ukraine 5th 4.05 m
2014 World Junior Championships Eugene, Oregon, US 4th 4.40 m
2015 World Championships Beijing, China – NM
2016 World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland – NM
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 8th 4.60 m
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 3rd 4.60 m
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 22nd (q) 4.40 m
2022 World Championships Eugene, Oregon, US 3rd 4.80 m
Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom 1st 4.60 m
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st= 4.90 m
2024 Olympic Games Paris, France 1st 4.90 m

References

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  1. ^ "Nina Kennedy". gc2018.com. Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Commonwealth Games 2018: WA pole vaulter Nina Kennedy bounces back from tough time" Archived 6 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine by Steve Butler, The West Australian, 26 February 2018
  3. ^ "Nina Kennedy". World Athletics. 17 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  4. ^ Kimlin, Jasmine (15 March 2021). "Nina Kennedy Jumps Into the Record Books". Presbyterian Ladies' College. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Nina Kennedy". Australian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  6. ^ "West Aussies eliminated in pole vault controversy". The West Australian. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  7. ^ "WA vault star's incredible record night". 13 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Kennedy completes stunning turnaround with pole vault gold". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Nina Kennedy shares pole vault gold in thrilling world athletics championships final". ABCNews. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
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