Targeted Sport in Focus - Athletics (Pole Vault)

The sport of athletics has a long standing history in Western Australia with the WA Athletics Stadium holding bragging rights as former hosts of the World Masters Athletics Championships, Australian Track and Field Championships, many other national and international athletics meets including more recently the World Transplant Games in 2023.

The State has a rich collection of Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth games medalists in all disciplines of athletics but has a particularly strong pole vault legacy.

Steve Hooker, former WAIS athlete and household name across the country remains an icon for athletics and was the first Australian male to win a track and field gold medal in 40 years when he cleared 5.96m in 2008 setting a new Olympic record.

Liz Parnov, whose name once more entered Australian living rooms when she won Australian Survivor in 2023 was the youngest competitor in Olympic history to contest the pole vault in 2012 at the age of 18.

On Sunday, former VenuesWest brand ambassador Nina Kennedy won gold in Paris on the Diamond League circuit with a jump of 4.77m, her fourth best ever jump, adding 16cm to her season best having just recovered from a stress fracture. VenuesWest has followed Nina on her pole vault journey in recent years. Nina, a bronze medalist at the World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games gold medalist joined fellow WA pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Rio and Tokyo Olympian Kurtis Marshall is a two time Commonwealth Games winner. As Australia's leading male pole vaulter, he escaped injury when his pole snapped at the recent Australian Championships in Brisbane while he was eyeing up a new outdoor personal best of 5.90 metres.

2024 is another Olympic year and we anticipate some amazing things from our homegrown pole vaulters ahead of Paris and can't wait to cheer for them on their way.