McCartney hopes to make some big strides
For someone who soars so high for her sport, Eliza McCartney sure enjoys flying under the radar.
And so it will be again this weekend in Birmingham as the 21-year-old Auckland pole vaulter slips in to world indoor athletics championships down on form, down on her runup, down on preevent favouritism but decidedly up on her prospects for an event she more or less considers a free swing after a less than ideal buildup.
‘‘It’s funny, it’s really all I know, being the dark horse,’’ says McCartney from Birmingham ahead of her event (early Sunday, NZT). ‘‘I was thinking about the Commonwealth Games and I’m ranked No 1 or 2 and I haven’t been in that situation before. It brings a whole new challenge and pressure you have to learn to deal with.
‘‘It’s got to happen at some point but I have to say it is nice to fly under the radar.’’
It seems strange to call the Olympic bronze medallist from Rio less than two years ago, and one of the glamour girls of her sport, a dark horse, but that’s reflective of the troubled last year McCartney has had dealing with an Achilles injury that put the figurative handbrake on.
That’s why McCartney elected to make a short-turnaround raid on the indoors championships, only arriving on Monday, and making a quick dash back home afterwards to resume her Commonwealth Games buildup.
‘‘I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to get here with the uncertainty around recovering from the
Achilles injury. But the biggest thing is my priority for the season is the Commonwealth Games.’’
Not that McCartney steps out in Birmingham with anything but a positive mindset and a decent shot at a medal, if she can rise to the occasion on the night.
‘‘This is a great event. The first one I went to two years ago blew my mind. It was the first senior competition I’d ever done, and it was so exciting. I don’t want to lose that, I want to be excited and compete at a high level against great quality competition.
‘‘It’s another experience, more learning, more time competing against the best people in the world. All those things are important, and I’ve only been back on runups that are worthwhile in the last month, so I’m still adapting really.’’
That’s where it gets interesting. McCartney toyed with her longer 14-stride runup for the Aussie champs on the Gold Coast recently, and failed to clear a heigh. She’s now back to 12, and feeling a lot more comfortable.
‘‘It’s exciting to get a 12-stride competition in. I feel my technique has come along a lot in the last six months, and hopefully I can get a PB. The goal is to get back up to 14 for the Commonwealth Games, but I’ve only got a few weeks after I get home, so we’ll see how it goes.’’
New Zealand’s Tom Walsh will have no such luck sneaking under anyone’s radar for the men’s shot put competition early Sunday (NZT). As world indoors and outdoors champion, his rivals know exactly what the Olympic bronze medallist is capable of.
The 25-year-old part-time builder from Christchurch (by way of Timaru) has the longest outdoor throw in the world in 2018 with 21.87m from the Porritt Classic in February, but will be under pressure from Czech Tomas Stanek, who has thrown 22.17m indoors, and Polish 20 year old Konrad Bukowiecki, who threw 22.00m two weeks ago.
Walsh’s major US rivals Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs have both bypassed the event.
Middle-distance runners Julian Matthews and Hamish Carson will kick off the Kiwi assault in Birmingham in the 3000m heats tomorrow.