nitrogenNot since Tessa Sanderson threw the javelin high into the sky over Los Angeles in 1984 has a British woman won Olympic gold in a track event. But with every leap 24-year-old Molly Caudery makes, expectations grow that the 40-year-old hoodoo is about to be crushed.
In the past few months, Cowdery has won the world indoor pole vault championship and jumped higher than anyone else – 4.86m. Now, at the European Athletics Championships in Rome, she is vying for her first outdoor title. The signs are still surprisingly good.
The weather was so hot at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday lunchtime that Cowdery had ice packs and ice towels around his neck as he waited for other players to take part in the qualifying rounds. Finally, after more than an hour of waiting, Cowdery stepped forward at the barbell at 4.50m. She cleared it on the first take without fuss or anger and by a huge margin.
All said and done, she will once again be the overwhelming favorite heading into Monday’s final. “I put ice towels and ice packs around my neck to keep cool,” Cowdery said afterward. “I’m really happy to be able to save some energy and get one jump done and be the best prepared for the final.”
Gold means “everything” in Rome, she insists, although she takes nothing for granted. “Winning my first outdoor medal means a lot to me,” she added. “It will also give me confidence going into the Olympics.”
But Holly Bradshaw, another British athlete on the field and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist, was not happy. She injured her back during the warm-up and failed to break the opening height of 4.25m.
“My Achilles was struggling a little bit, but it felt good,” Bradshaw said. “But on the warm-up track, I was actually doing a harmless jump and I stuck my back out and I was like, ‘Oh, cool.’ It sucks, but I try not to live in the moment, I Focus on the bigger picture.
These include focusing on getting fit for one last hurray in Paris, setting up her own pop-up coffee company Ookin, and predicting that her good friend Cowdery will win Olympic gold.
“I think Morse has taken the baton from me now,” Bradshaw said. “Molly is one of the sweetest, kindest people in the world. If I could hand the baton to anyone, I would want it to be her. I would like to see her go on and become a world champion, which I know she can do arrive.
Cowdery has suffered multiple injuries over the years, including a freak weightlifting accident in 2021 that resulted in 90% of his finger being lost and requiring three surgeries to repair. Yet Bradshaw believes the nearly two-year hiatus from training has turned her friend into an “Iron Lady.”
“Molly is naturally very fast and very strong, and when you get hurt, it sets you back,” Bradshaw said. “I think the biggest thing over the past few years is that she’s been building momentum, strength and confidence – she’s almost like a woman of steel. Nothing can faze her, she’s taken knocks but she’s brushed them off .
“Pole vaulting is a sport of confidence and drive – once you master it, it’s like an armor. She’s built this armor around herself, which means she’s so unfazed by little setbacks, I think. This is what gives her an edge and consistency.
But, Bradshaw believes, there’s more to it than that. “She stumbles, she does this, she can’t be bothered, she has no ego, she’s not embarrassed about anything,” she said. “That’s really her greatest asset. I told her I’m always going to be here. I’m a shoulder for her to cry on and a brain for her to make choices and she knows where I am and we have a very, very good relationship.” .
“I think she needs to stay this carefree Moore because that’s how she became a world champion and an Olympic champion.”
For now, though, the Olympics can wait. Because Cowdery thought only of the glory of Europe.
