McTaggart setting the bar high
Olivia McTaggart sees expectation as motivation.
The 17-year-old is a training partner to Olympic Games bronze medallist Eliza McCartney and just broke her pole vault record at the New Zealand secondary schools athletics championships by 20cm.
So can McTaggart become the next McCartney?
‘‘To get her records, it’s really amazing because it means that soon I’ll be with her going to all these big competitions. Having her by my side is just going to be really cool and having her set that standard for the sport and me to come along and chip at those records is really cool,’’ said McTaggart, whose personal best of 4.40m is still 42cm lower than McCartney’s.
McTaggart could not have timed her run any better with McCartney’s rise to stardom hoisting pole vault into the spotlight.
She said McCartney’s success is already having flow on effect, with Athletics New Zealand once again including the Vertical Pursuit pole vault event, which will be held in SkyCity’s Federal St entertainment precinct in March, as part of its international series.
McCartney is also inspiring new athletes to join the sport, including McTaggart herself.
‘‘We’ve definitely got a lot more new people coming along and up-and-comers. It’s pretty exciting for the sport having some more good people coming along,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s becoming so much more well known as well. Before, I’d say what I did and they’d have no idea what I was talking about.’’
Having now completed secondary school, McTaggart will be able to concentrate fully on pole vaulting and she is already setting the bar high when it comes to her 2018 targets, hoping to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games, where she would likely compete alongside, and against, McCartney.
It would easily be her biggest competition yet and there is some extra motivation with her brother, Cameron McTaggart, already selected in the weightlifting team for the Commonwealth Games.
McTaggart is a good shout to make it to the Gold Coast too. Her PB is the same height as the B qualifying standard set by Athletics New Zealand. She hopes to clear that, or better it, again this summer, to truly cement her place.
‘‘It’s a big target for me, probably the biggest at this stage,’’ she said.
‘‘We don’t get selected until early February so until then I’m just going to train and compete as if I am going and if I do get selected then awesome, I’ll be prepared. If I don’t, then that’s just that. But it’s definitely something I’m working towards and I’m doing everything to get there.’’