She’s back - just
Vaulter Eliza McCartney survives a bad case of ‘jelly legs’ to sneak through to the final of the world championships
With the year Eliza McCartney has been having, some good fortune was well overdue.
The Kiwi Olympic star certainly rode her luck as she overcome a case of ‘‘jelly legs’’ to sneak into the final of the women’s pole vault at the IAAF World Championships in London yesterday by the skin of her teeth.
The 20-year-old Aucklander has had a troubled buildup with Achilles tendon problems severely hampering her first tilt at the world champs. She had to withdraw from a number of warmup events and has been unable to train fully as she was touch and go to even compete in London until just a fortnight out.
She had hoped to be racing in on a full 16-stride runup, but because of her severely limited preparation had to pare it back to a much more compact 12 paces. ‘‘We just ran out of time because I’ve only done like two vault sessions in the last quite a while,’’ she said before her world champs debut. ‘‘It’s just the best option, considering everything I’ve been through.’’
It showed, too, as she struggled in the qualifying competition in front of a full house at London’s Olympic stadium, relying on a countback to scrape into the final in the 12th, and final, position.
McCartney, who cleared a national and Oceania record 4.82 metres in Auckland in February, could manage just 4.50m in a tense qualifying competition on the opening night of the championships meet.
The Rio Olympic bronze medallist entered the competition at 4.35m, and needed two attempts to clear that height. She then made it over 4.50m, also on her second attempt – which would prove crucial in the countback.
McCartney then failed on all three attempts at 4.55m, and had to survive an anxious wait to discover she had scraped through in the 12th, and final, qualifying position for the final tomorrow morning (NZT) when she will be hoping for a form resurgence.
Switzerland’s Angelica Moser also cleared 4.50m, but was shaded by the Kiwi because she required three attempts to get over the height. ‘‘It was not good, but good at the same time,’’ said a relieved McCartney afterwards.
‘‘Maybe the lack of vaulting in the last month caught up to me a little bit and I was struggling to control my legs a bit. They were getting out of control and were a bit jelly, and I was doing all sorts of strange things.
‘‘It wasn’t ideal but I can count my lucky stars.’’
If there was a positive for the popular Kiwi sportswoman, it was that her Achilles issues did not further hamper her.
‘‘My Achilles held up really well, so that’s promising for the final,’’ she added. ‘‘It means it is competition ready. I’m just a little bit rusty but this is a really good warmup now, with the final in two days.’’
Only Greece’s Olympic champion Ekater´ıni Stefanidi made it over the automatic qualifying height of 4.60m, at her first and only attempt, with eight others progressing with clearances of 4.55m, including Rio silver medallist Sandi Morris of the US and defending champion Yarisely
‘It wasn’t ideal but I can count my lucky stars. Eliza McCartney
Silva of Cuba.
McCartney was one of three athletes to to progress to the final on 4.50m, with Canada’s Anicka Newell and Britain’s Holly Bradshaw both clearing the height on their first attempts.
American Jenn Suhr, the 2012 Olympic champion and world indoor record holder, was the biggest casualty in qualifying as she failed all three of her attempts at 4.55m and bowed out.
Earlier Auckland-based Southlander Marshall Hall failed to qualify for the final of the men’s discus when he finished at the tail of the opening group with a best throw of 56.64m. It was well short of his PB of 64.55m that earned him the spot in London.
The Kiwi opened with a no-throw and then followed that with his best distance of 56.64m and a disappointing 54.20m to finish on. He was the 30th, and last, of the athletes to register a distance over the two groups.
The eight-time New Zealand champion admitted afterwards he was disappointed with his debut performance at a world championships. ‘‘I prepared as well as I could. It turns out when you go out there and try and smack the crap out of it, it doesn’t tend to come off every time,’’ he said.