Nina Kennedy's Olympic triumph after ugly storm around shared gold medal with Katie Moon
The pole vaulter has admitted she wouldn't have made the same decision if the same situation arose at the Olympics.
Nina Kennedy is an Olympic gold medallist all by herself after the controversy that erupted at last year's world championships when she opted to share the title with American rival Katie Moon. On Wednesday night at the Paris Games, Kennedy became the first Australian woman in history to win a field athletics event at the Olympics.
After an early miss at 4.70m, Kennedy was absolute perfection to nail her next three heights of 4.80, 4.85 and 4.90m - all on the first attempt. She couldn't manage to hit 4.95, but when Moon failed to clear 4.90 the Aussie was the Olympic champion.
Moon took the silver on a countback, while Alysha Newman of Canada won the bronze. Kennedy broke down in tears as she celebrated her historic feat, and posed for photos alongside Moon and Newman.
It came in complete contrast to the nasty storm that erupted at the athletics world championships last August when Kennedy and Moon copped backlash for deciding to share the gold medal. On that occasion, both athletes cleared 4.90 but couldn't hit 4.95 after three unsuccessful attempts.
Under pole vault rules, the athletes are given the option to keep jumping in an attempt to find a winner, or to simply share the gold medal. Kennedy and Moon were happy to share the honour and both walked away with the world title. Speaking to Channel 9 later on Wednesday night, Kennedy admitted she'd thought about her decision "five times a day" leading into the final, and was intent on taking the gold all by herself in Paris.
Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon in ugly furore at world championships
The Aussie and American athletes' decision sparked controversy at the time, with American legend Michael Johnson among the many to question the move. Johnson appeared to suggest he wasn't a fan, writing on social media: "Fans, do you like the shared gold concept? If you answer yes, second question is will you still like it if it becomes more common?"
Moon later took to social media to reveal the torrent of online abuse she copped in the aftermath, saying she'd been labelled 'pathetic' and 'shameful'. The American said the decision came down to not wanting to injure herself by pushing her body to the extreme.
"I would like to help enlighten those that are calling us 'cowards,' 'shameful,' 'pathetic,' etc," she wrote. "I know you can't make everyone happy in this world but in an effort to help people understand the sport that I love so much.
"The pole vault is not an endurance event. We have a short window of jumps once the fatigue sets in. It not only becomes more difficult but dangerous. The sport has seen everything from athletes just landing funny with minor tweaks to horrific accidents.
"To walk away healthy and with a gold medal while celebrating with my friend that had jumped just as well was a no-brainer. Part of the reason we've reached the highest level is by listening to our bodies. I understand that people want to see a clear winner. But in this instance, it was without a doubt the right decision, and one that I will never regret. Contrary to popular belief, you do not need a 'win at all cost' mindset to have a champion's mentality."
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Kennedy later admitted she wouldn't make the same decision if it came up at the Olympics, and re-iterated that on Wednesday night. "I think maybe next year if the exact same thing happened in Paris at the Olympics, I don't think I would share," she said last September. "I think it just really sums up where I'm at in my career and then maybe in the future I will want that individual title."
Well that individual title is hers, with Kennedy winning Australia's 18th gold medal of the Paris Games on Wednesday night. Along with Keegan Palmer (skateboarding), Matt Wearn (sailing) and the men's team pursuit cyclists, Australia won another four gold medals in day 12 in Paris. The total of 18 gold is the most Australia has ever won at one Olympic Games, surpassing the 17 the country won at Tokyo 2021 and Athens 2004.
