Contrasting fortunes for Kiwi athletes Pole vault pair face anxious bid to qualify
Kiwi Olympic pole vault hopefuls Eliza McCartney and Olivia McTaggart have both opened up on the mental battles they’ve faced this year trying to make a late run at a spot at the Tokyo Games.
And several Kiwi athletes already named in the squad for Tokyo, including two-time Olympic 1500m medallist Nick Willis, are also facing an anxious final few weeks as their rankings slip dangerously close to World Athletics mandatory cutoff points.
McCartney and McTaggart both came up short in last Saturday’s first of three straight winter series competitions held indoors in Auckland. Both need to knock off the 4.70 metres Olympic qualifying standard, which looks a long way from their reach at present.
McTaggart won last Saturday’s event when she cleared 4.35m at her second attempt. McCartney could not even manage that, pulling up sore on all three shots at that height as she continues to struggle with the debilitating effects of her chronic Achilles tendon problem.
The 2016 Olympics bronze medallist looked a long way from the athlete who stunned the world with her dramatic feats in Rio, taking three attempts to get over 4.05m and 4.20m, and then failing to get off the ground for 4.35m. Her PB is 4.94m, set in Germany in 2018.
McCartney admitted it had been a long, hard slog as she continued to battle for anything resembling full fitness because of the Achilles tendinopathy that has been a handbrake on her jumping for the last three years.
‘‘I’m pretty numb to it now,’’ she said. ‘‘Last time I was on top of my game was probably the middle of 2018. It’s been a long time now.
‘‘The summer season this year was really tough and there were lots 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 is that year . . . I would have regretted just stopping.’’
McTaggart is a different sort of story. At 21 she’s still on the way up. She was hoping to get to Tokyo as the first major step on that journey, but, with a PB of 4.55m, always knew it would be a challenge.
That task heightened late in the summer when she snapped a pole at an event and fractured her hand, effectively chopping her Olympic bid off at the knees.
‘‘It’s been a tricky process,’’ said McTaggart, who changed to fibreglass poles because of multiple snaps that had rocked her confidence. ‘‘I’ve put so much into my strength, my speed, and just focused on everything I could when I couldn’t jump because there are so many things that go into pole vaulting.
‘‘Mentally it was tough at times. A few weeks ago I also twisted my ankle and thought that was me done for these comps. It’s resilience-building and if I get those heights it will make it even sweeter.’’
But both have pledged to give 4.70m their best shot over the remaining two Saturdays.
Meanwhile, Willis has headed for an unscheduled pair of outings in Europe (Denmark and Sweden) after running a season’s best 3min 38.43sec for the 1500m in Nashville at the weekend. The 2008 and 2016 Olympic medallist has slipped to 37th on the world rankings, with the field set at 45 for Tokyo (likely to be slightly reduced by IOC universality slots).
Athletics NZ high performance director Scott Goodman said the decision was made to give Willis the chance to ‘‘protect’’ his ranking after he missed making it to the 2019 world championships in Doha in similar circumstances.
‘‘We don’t think he’ll slide out of the top 45 but we don’t want to take any chances after Doha,’’ said Goodman.
Facing similar concerns are discus exponent Connor Bell and javelin thrower Tori Peeters. Bell and Peeters both sit at 31 on the world rankings, with 32 making it to Tokyo.
Bell will compete twice this weekend (Brisbane tomorrow, the Gold Coast on Saturday) to give himself the best chance to improve his situation.
Peeters faces added pressure. Not only does she have to stay inside the top 32 over the next fortnight, but her selection is dependent on her throwing 62m once, or 61.50m twice. Do the latter, says Goodman, and the former should take care of itself.
Peeters (who threw 56.99m last Saturday) will compete at the Gold Coast this Saturday and another meet in Townsville on June 19 in her last two shots at getting to Tokyo.
‘‘There were lots of times where I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can keep doing this’.’’ Eliza McCartney, above