medium sizeolly Caudery is an adrenaline junkie who enjoys surfing and jumping off cliffs near his home in Cornwall. But now she’s pursuing something even more exciting: winning Olympic gold this summer. The very likeable and humble 23-year-old came to believe that she could make it happen.
As she twisted, flipped and soared over the 4.8m bar to win the world indoor pole vault title on Saturday, she was asked whether she was a favorite in Paris. She paused, letting what once seemed like magical realism sink in, then nodded.
“Yes,” she said. “It sounds like a lot of pressure, but I think I’m starting to work out how to deal with it. It’s quite a dream, isn’t it? But if I can stay healthy, keep training hard and get on the starting line and get into the Olympics, we’ll see what happens What.”
This time last year, few outside the track and field community knew Cowdery’s name. Injuries — including nearly losing a finger after a freak weightlifting accident that required three surgeries to repair — slowed her progress. Then, suddenly, she was airborne.
“Maybe for the first time since I was 17, I was injury-free and built some real stability. Mentally I’m stronger, physically I’m stronger. All of that combined makes me taller .”
We know she’s talented. She showed us this by improving her personal best from 4.6m to a world-leading 4.86m in one year. The same goes for finishing fifth at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. But in Glasgow, Cowdery proved something else: she can handle the intense pressure of being a popular opponent for the best vaulter in the world and still perform at the highest level.
“For me, it all happened very quickly,” Cowdery said. She now has over 200,000 followers on Instagram and is second only to Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Dina Asher-Smith among British athletes.
“My plan was always the 2028 Olympics and just building up to that. Then all of a sudden, after last year’s Worlds, things just snowballed. I was just trying to catch up to that, and that sentiment It just keeps coming.”
Her performance on Saturday left the impression of a true star is born. But despite the ice that seemed to run through her veins, the reality was somewhat different.
“I was the most nervous I’ve ever been. I barely slept. My mind was racing, but I’ve been lucky enough to clear those hurdles again and again this season. So I was like, ‘I totally know what to do. How to do it. I knew exactly what pole to use. I just used that confidence.”
To make matters worse, French athlete Margot Cheverill suffered a broken ankle during the game. This incident had a profound impact on Cowdray. “I didn’t stay calm,” she admitted. “I turned around and saw all this chaos. I have very bad eyesight but I thought this didn’t look right. Her feet were going the wrong way. Then I saw red blood and tears came to my eyes. . ”
More tears were shed after winning the gold medal. But now Corddry plans to go on vacation before focusing her attention on Paris. “I don’t overtrain – that’s a big thing over the winter,” she said. “I just want to build up a little bit every day and take that into the summer.”
Meanwhile, as Cowdery told her remarkable story, Josh Kerr added a new chapter to his, adding an indoor 3000m world title to his 1500m outdoor gold in Budapest and subsequently He faced a barrage of questions from Norwegian journalists over his rivalry with Jakob Ingrebrigtsen. But once again, the Scot took it all in stride.
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“Eventually there will be conflict,” he said. “That’s the thing. It’s a very high-level sport. We’re going to go head-to-head a lot this season and it’s going to be a great season in the 1500m. Look, I don’t think I’m going to win them all, but I will Winning right, that’s my goal.”
Kerr even admitted to enjoying his spats with the Norwegian, whom he accused in January of being “deficient in manners”. “I’m a loudmouth!” he said.
“It’s the same with my teammates, we’re always going back and forth. It’s part of training.
“Yes, I have a bit of an ego and I like to say sarcastic things here and there, and that’s the end of the story, but there’s no malice.”
When a reporter reminded Kerr that he had delivered in Budapest and Glasgow and then asked him: “Can you deliver in Paris?” he didn’t hesitate. “I guess I’m the postman.”
