McCartney moves on from injury concerns
Eliza McCartney’s goals for the new year didn’t need too much thought.
The Olympic bronze medallist wants to put her frustrating run of injuries behind her and reach the elusive five-metre mark.
The pole vault sensation has endured a horror run of injury niggles in the last two years but with the 2020 Olympic Games less than 19 months away, an almost fit again McCartney is ready to make up for lost time in 2019.
‘‘I’m still working through a few things at the moment,’’ McCartney told TVNZ of her injuries.
McCartney, 22, who is back training after a short summer break, could compete in her first event of the year later this month but the IAAF world championships in Qatar in September is her major aim for 2019 as she builds towards next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Heel, hamstring and Achilles injuries have been the major issues for McCartney since her breakthrough performance to win the bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
‘‘I don’t know what it has been over the past few years, I keep getting injury after injury. But we’re working towards the summer season,’’ she told TVNZ.
‘‘The first comp is meant to be in a couple weeks’ time, so hopefully I’ll be ready to go, otherwise I’ve got the whole summer. And then we’ll be going into the international season with world champs at the end.
‘‘And I can finally say the Olympics is next year, which is crazy.
‘‘That’s the biggest target. Everything we do from now we’re looking at that.’’
McCartney, who won the silver medal at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018, registered a personal best – and national record – of 4.94m in Germany back in July last year and she is desperate to improve through the five-metre mark.
‘‘I’m constantly working on technique and speed, and obviously all of that’s going to help,’’ McCartney told TVNZ.
She had one unsuccessful vault at 5.01m at the Germany meet.
‘‘Six centimetres, it’s just so close it’s horrible, [but] I’ll get there one day, I promise.’’
McCartney is obviously targeting gold at the world championships but said she would be focused on her own performance and let medals and results take care of themselves.
‘‘That’s a biggie, but I always come from the perspective of I can only do the best I can.
‘‘I’m never really thinking of any particular place or medal, that sort of thing just comes from what you do.
‘‘At the end of the day, it’s more about the heights and how I attack that,’’ McCartney told TVNZ.