Nina Kennedy blitzes field to win women’s pole vault on competitive returnJosh KemptonSouth Western TimesTue, 17 February 2026 6:21PM
Olympic gold medallist Nina Kennedy has marked her return from an 18-month injury lay-off by blitzing the women’s pole vault field at the Perth Track Classic.
In her first competitive event for 518 days the Busselton star proved too good for her competition, despite jumping off a run-up only half her usual length at eight steps.
She produced an unblemished performance in her hugely-anticipated comeback, successfully clearing heights up to 4.47m with her first jump to defeat Japan’s Misaki Morota.
After her breakthrough victory on the Olympic stage in Paris in 2024, Kennedy was dogged by repeat hamstring injuries before being forced to pull out from last year’s World Athletics Championships after testing a muscle in her legs just days before the event.
Kennedy told The West Australian she had “so much fun” on her competitive return.
“I’ve literally exceeded all my own expectations. I’m just happy to be back with a healthy body, that’s the big exclamation mark in that sentence,” Kennedy said.
“I like to challenge myself. I set really high standards. You win competitions at the Olympics and World Championships with a clean scorecard, so that’s something I really pride myself on.”
After waiting more than half an hour after the event started before getting involved, Kennedy said her nerves were jangling ahead of her first competitive jump since September 2024.
“Muscle memory took over,” she said.
“I think this performance just demonstrates I shouldn’t have that self-doubt; I’m a champion for a reason, and I need to back myself in.”
Kennedy had the option to continue on and attempt to clear greater heights after eliminating all of her opponents but said it was one she never seriously considered.
“I was pretty happy to get through the competition unscathed,” she said.
“I’ve had a lot of demons with my body and injury over the last year, so after I got through healthy, it was ‘let’s just wrap it up’.”
The hometown event marked the first in Kennedy’s preparations for a packed 2026 which is set to include the Commonwealth Games, Diamond League and the first edition of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship.
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