Molly Caudery: Two years in the life of a pole-vaulter
2024 could not have started better for Molly Caudery, gold in the World Indoors with 4.80 in front of a British crowd in Glasgow. She said at the time: “I dreamed of this. I wasn’t sure if it would come true. It was such a tough competition. There were six 4.80m girls in the competition, so I knew it was going to be a fight.
At the beginning of last year, 2023, I had a couple of surgeries, went into that year off rehab, and managed to come fifth at Worlds. Since then, I’ve been so consistent in training, and my mental confidence has grown a lot. Physically, I’ve improved, and I think a combination of everything has just snowballed to allow me to do what I did.
“The Glasgow competition was difficult because there were some injuries and nasty falls. That affected me during the competition; I got really emotional. The change from coming 5th at World Outdoors last year to winning World Indoors is just unbelievable to me.
What a way to start an Olympic year! All the more so with a 4.92 in June 2024 and eight vaults over 4.80. Then disaster. Three failures at 4.55 in the Olympic qualifying. Her comments in those raw moments when the enormity of the failure began to sink in were: “I am so disappointed. I don’t have any excuse. I am in shock. I felt great and in the best shape of my life. I loved the big crowd; I didn’t feel overly nervous. I don’t have a reason for what just happened right now. This is going to take a bit of time to process.
“4.55m is a bar that I jump day in, day out. There is not one piece of doubt in my mind that I was going to clear it. Some people might say I came in too high, but that’s certainly not my or my coach’s opinion. When I have been jumping 4.80 and 4.90 all year round, 4.55 shouldn’t have been a problem. It is just a really unfortunate day”.
And of course, she cleared 4.80 in her next competition.
The 2025 World Championships did not happen. During her warm-up, she slipped and injured her ankle and could not take part.
The 2025 World Indoor Championships Pole Vault in China was an unsatisfactory event. It was a competition beset with technical issues and stops. There was an hour’s wait in the middle of the competition as officials tried to get the bar hoist to work. Molly took two attempts to clear 4.70. The winner cleared 4.75, with three athletes clearing 4.70 – Molly missed out on a medal because of that 4.70 failure. To make it more irritating, she seemed to clear 4.75 twice, only to nudge it on the way down.
She summed up a frustrating day: “It was definitely not what I wanted, but I am disappointed to say the least. It was a really, really tough competition, and there were a lot of technical issues, but I don’t want to put any excuses out. I had some really good attempts at 4.75m, but it has been a rocky indoors, without the consistency I would have liked, so lots to learn, but I am moving on to the next one”.
In comparison, Torun 2026 was straightforward – apart from the distraction of team-mates Georgia Hunter-Bell and Keely Hodgkinson winning gold medals when she was trying to vault. Only five of the 13 athletes cleared 4.70, only two cleared 4.80, and only Molly went over 4.85; the gold was hers.
A delighted Molly said, “Six weeks ago, I couldn’t get off the ground, and I was in a dark place. Today, to come here and do this means more than anyone knows, after Paris and after Tokyo and after last year, it’s just a relief. I haven’t enjoyed jumping so much in such a long time. It was just happy to be at 4.80 with Tina (ŠUTEJ), but it was great to get the outright win. Turning the tables and winning the title means a lot. I have been doing a lot of mental preparation, and I knew I could jump high – that was not an issue for me at all today. I worked a lot with my coach, friends, and family to get myself into the right headspace and physically ready, especially after coming back to competition after injury in Tokyo. Two years ago in Glasgow, it was a ‘Super Sunday’ for GB as Josh Kerr and I won gold medals; today feels like a ‘Super Sunday’ again. It’s like repeating history but even better, with three golds in 30 minutes. Georgia and Keely have been amazing, and I could not have wished for a better evening.”
PS Credit too to Scott Simpson, who has assisted 6 different athletes to 13 Major Championship medals, including Molly.
