I don’t know about you but doesn’t it feel like the gals are on a fucken roll right now?
The Opals took home bronze at the women’s basketball Asia Cup. The Diamonds victoriously won top gong at the Netball World Cup. And we’ve all been basking in the glow of the Matildas heroic fourth place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer tournament and now to top it all off Aussie pole vaulter Nina Kennedy has earned a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships today.
CAN.I.GET.A.YEAH.THE.GIRLS X 1000000000000000?!
Taking place at Budapest’s National Athletics Centre, the 26-year-old fought tooth and nail in an epic showdown with US competitor Katie Moon only for both women to walk away with joint gold. The battle came down to a stalemate with both athletes unable to clear 4.95m to decide the ultimate victor. In the end Kennedy and Moon had a conversation where they decided to share the winning place. Honestly, women.
“Katie is the Olympic champion, she’s the world champion and she’s honestly one of the greatest in the sport, so to share it with her is an honour and a privilege and will mean that we’ll be connected forever,” said Kennedy in a post-event interview.
“When we were equal, we were both looking at each other. I didn’t think she was going to want to share it. I said to her, ‘Hey girl, you maybe want to share?’.
“You could see the relief come over her face, and she was like, ‘Yes!’, and then we both started crying.”
Furthermore Kennedy just casually broke the Aussie national record twice throughout the evening, firstly clearing 4.85m then 4.90m.
Not only is this a huge professional feather in Kennedy’s cap but this heroic win will be incredibly significant moment for the athlete who has been open about her struggles with mental health. In an interview with Athletics Australia the Busselton-native opened up about the struggles she has faced throughout her career.
“The biggest challenge I’ve faced in the sport and out of the sport is my mental health,” she said.
“I’ve had a few occurrences of major depression. There were stages where I was so low I physically couldn’t complete of even start any of my training sessions.”
We can only imagine how special it must feel to have that gold medal around her neck after experiencing such challenging personal moments. As a nation we are so proud of you, Nina. We can’t wait to see you shine.
(Image Source: Getty Images / Tim Clayton)
