British pole vaulter shares her Olympic gold medal dream, the challenges of a competitive field and the inspiration she draws from Swedish star
Before this year, Molly Caudery was fairly unknown on the world stage. However, with a pair of world leading jumps early in the year, coupled with her World Indoor Championship gold in Glasgow, she quickly rose to international fame.
The 24-year-old is now one of the leading contenders for gold in the women’s pole vault in Paris.
Despite feeling disappointed with her bronze medal at the European Championships in June, she made a stunning comeback. Caudery, from Cornwall, broke team-mate Holly Bradshaw’s British record with a 4.92m jump at the Toulouse Capitole Perche meet in France, cementing her status as one of Team GB’s top prospects for an athletics Olympic gold.
Personal bests have been welcomed by the Thames Valley Harrier ever since she took the British crown last summer and now she gets to fulfil her dream as she makes her Olympic debut on Monday (August 5) in the pole vault qualification round at 10:40 CET.
Molly Caudery (Getty)
“This is my life-long dream,” says Caudery. “It’s all happening right now and it is definitely catching up to me.
“I’m trying not to let any of the pressure affect me in a negative way. It’s just an incredible opportunity to go out there and see what I can do.
“I’m just trusting that I have the ability and I’ve put in the year’s work to know that once I’m out there, I’m going to do what needs done. 4.93m is there and then the bar after that is five metres and who knows what can happen then.”
Caudery may be on the brink of clinching that medal, but her journey to do so will be far from easy. She contends with tough competition from Olympic champion Katie Moon and Australia’s joint-world champion Nina Kennedy.
Neither have matched Caudery’s personal best this season, though. New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney is another who will contest with the Brit as she cleared 4.80 metres, alongside Caudery at the World Indoors – taking the silver medal.
Molly Caudery (Getty)
Caudery, who won a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, finished behind Switzerland’s Angelica Moser and Greece’s Katerina Stefanidi at the European Championships and she will be determined to prove herself and finish ahead of them in Paris.
It is clear that the gold medal could be anyone’s, the competition is just so strong. But Caudery first remains focused on advancing to the final, acknowledging that the qualification round is often the most challenging part.
A single misstep could cost her a shot at a medal.
“There is definitely more tactics in the qualifying round than the final,” she says. “The final is just a fight to the end, but with the qualifying round being two days before the final you need to try and save as much energy as you can whilst still getting the job done.
“I tend to come in reasonably higher in the qualifying round. At the European Championships I did one jump and that was it done. It won’t be like that in the Olympics because I’m sure the height will be much higher.
“There are four of five of us that will be going at it. It’s definitely going to take a 4.80-4.90m bar to win a medal and that is definitely within my grasps but there are so many other girls that are that level too.
“I’m in a position right now where I know when I step on that track, there is nothing that is going to shake me or take my confidence away. I think that is kind of my superpower right now.”
In preparation for the Olympics, Caudery has been actively participating in the Diamond League circuit. In May, she secured a victory at the Doha Diamond League with a jump of 4.73m, finishing ahead of Kennedy. However, Kennedy bounced back in Monaco last month, clearing 4.88m, while Caudery finished third with 4.83m.
The final competition before Paris was the London Diamond League, where Caudery finished third but only managed a height of 4.65m.
“I feel like I had a slightly lost opportunity today and I didn’t quite perform how I wanted but it’s not Paris.”@MollyCaudery on her performance in the pole vault at the London Diamond League
The Brit placed joint third as she cleared a height of 4.65
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) July 20, 2024
… Reflecting on her performance, she says, “In London my performance was just down to silly mistakes. It was on my last turn there was a very strong headwind and I decided to run into it and that just set me up for failure. But it’s an easy mistake to fix. I’m not the most patient person in the world, so I just need to take a deep breath and wait for the wind.
“Every time I’ve not performed at the level I want to, I take so many positives away from it. I turn it and spin it around so that I won’t make those mistakes again.
Outside of competing, Caudery is inspired by the men’s world record-holder, Mondo Duplantis. The Swedish pole vault star, who currently holds the world record of 6.24m, is a dominant force in the sport and aims to defend his Olympic title in Paris.
Mondo Duplantis (Getty)
He made light work of qualification on Saturday (August 3) at Paris as he was one of 10 athletes to clear 5.75m at the Stade de France.
“He is an absolutely freak of nature,” says Caudery. “He is incredible. To do what he is doing is transformative for pole vault and sport.
“I think technically you can’t really copy his technique, it is just absolutely out there. He has got crazy speed and high grips on poles and he is the perfect model to look up to.”
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