'Hey girl you maybe wanna share this?' Nina Kennedy wins Pole Vault gold

Busselton born Pole Vaulter Nina Kennedy has tied for triumph in a tense final at the World Athletic Championships in Budapest.

Up against reigning world champion, Katie Moon from the US, Kennedy broke her own national record twice to stay in the competition. She cleared a jump of 4.85 metres on her first attempt – a height which knocked out three of the remaining five competitors.

The bar lifted to 4.90 metres, and both women flew over on their third attempt. The showdown was only halted at the 4.95 metre mark, where both failed to clear the bar, leaving them tied at 4.90m.

It was at that point Kennedy raised the idea of sharing the gold medal, which her world champion competitor happily agreed to.

“We were out there for such a long time, we were pushing each other to the absolute limit,” Kennedy said.

“Katie is the world champion, she is the Olympic gold medalist, I didn’t think she would want to share it. I thought we might need to keep jumping.

“But I kind of looked at her and said, ‘Hey girl you maybe wanna share this?’ and the relief you could see it on her face and you could see it on my face and it was mutual.”

It’s just the second gold medal of the 26-year-old’s career. The first snagged with a 4.60 metre jump at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

She won bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, as well as last year’s World Championships in Oregon.

Her efforts at the 2023 World Championships now have her ranked equal ninth in the world for women’s Pole Vaulting.