Eliza McCartney stays optimistic
Rio bronze medallist well short of the mark in the first of three attempts to seal a spot at the Tokyo Games. By
Eliza McCartney battled the pain and the doubts and the frustration to post just her second competition pole vault result of the year at the AUT Millennium facility in Auckland yesterday.
That it remained a long way from the height she will need to clear over the next few weeks to confirm her spot at the Tokyo Olympics, and a shot at a second straight Games medal, is neither here nor there.
It was a start, and from where McCartney has come from this excruciating season, that certainly is something.
Competing in the first of three straight Athletics New Zealand winter series pole vault meets that run over consecutive Saturdays ahead of the Olympic selection cutoff, McCartney struggled over 4.05 metres and then 4.20m – both at the third attempt – before pulling out of her final two shots at 4.35m in clear discomfort.
The 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medallist must clear the Games qualifying mark of 4.70m ahead of the selection cutoff of June 22 to take a place in the New Zealand squad for Tokyo. Right now, for an athlete who hasn’t competed pain-free since 2018, that feels like a long, long way off indeed.
Yesterday’s competition was won by McCartney’s Auckland squadmate Olivia McTaggart who is attempting her own long shot at a spot in Tokyo. The 21-year-old fractured her hand when a pole snapped as she was preparing for a competition in mid-March, and this was her first competition back as well.
She cleared 4.35m at her second crack and had a pretty good shake at 4.50m (just 5cm off her PB), but could not quite complete a clearance at that height. She too likely needs 4.70m (or something pretty close) to secure a spot for Tokyo and is pledging to give it her best shot over the following two meets.
McCartney has been plagued by chronic Achilles tendinopathy, which she believes is a genetic autoimmune disorder, for much of the last four years. Though she now relates her problems to her lower right leg in general because there are ‘‘all sorts of issues going on’’.
‘‘I think I’m in a place where I’m at peace with my situation,’’ she told the Sunday Star-Times . ‘‘I’ve kind of got not much to lose at this point, and might as well throw everything I’ve got out there. That’s what it felt like today. It took everything I had to get down that runway and jump in the air.
‘‘But to have some bars and a crowd that was so supportive was a really neat way to start.’’
McCartney said she had no expectations of getting anywhere near 4.70m in the first meet after a poor buildup, but said it had been a good feeling to even clear heights she would normally breeze over in her warm-ups.
‘‘I was on second biggest pole I’ve used from this run-up (10 steps) and it’s got me as high as 4.70, so it’s definitely a lot more than I actually expected today. It’s a really good start for this little series.’’
But the reality is her Achilles remains a handbrake. She was clearly in discomfort when she pulled out of her final two attempts at 4.35m.
‘‘It’s not great, it’s quite sore, but that’s just the way it is,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s kind of easy to compartmentalise it a little bit. We’ve only got 2-3 weeks left before qualification ends, so I can just push through it. It doesn’t really matter what happens, so long as I give my best to compete, because I’m an athlete and I won’t give up until it’s over.’’
Asked if 4.70 was realistic, given her only previous competition this year in March yielded just 4.32m, McCartney hardly swung for the fences.
‘‘Technically it’s realistic. The pole I’m on, the run-up I’m on, I can jump 4.70. I’ve done it before. I’m just not in the greatest space physically right now and so I don’t know is the short answer.
‘‘And I’m OK with not really knowing at this point. It’s just what I’ve got and I’m giving all I’m able to give on the day.’’
The 24-year-old said it had been a difficult last couple of years that had tested her to her limits.
‘‘The last time I was on top of my game was probably the middle of 2018. It’s been quite a long time now. It’s why the No 1 priority is the long game – making sure I can get back vaulting, and vaulting consistently.
‘‘The summer season this year was definitely really tough and there were a lot of times where I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can keep doing this’.
‘‘But when you’re an athlete, and you’re competitive and the Olympics are that year, it’s pretty hard just to stop. I would have regretted just stopping. I’ve got three weeks left now, and I’m going to just keep going.’’
McTaggart, who shaded squadmate Imogen Ayris on countback at 4.35m, had a similar approach to McCartney. She is behind the eight-ball after her hand fracture, and has changed to fibreglass poles which take some getting used to, but feels like she has nothing to lose over this next fortnight.
‘‘It’s risk versus reward,’’ she said.
The two Olympic hopefuls will go at it again next Saturday at the AUT Millennium indoor facility.
‘‘It doesn’t really matter what happens, so long as I give my best to compete, because I’m an athlete and I won’t give up until it’s over.’’