Molly Caudery shooting for the stars after vaulting stunning 4.85m
Talk of Molly Caudery becoming a major medal contender is gathering weight, after she claimed yet another personal best in the pole vault.
Those who stayed in their seats until the very end of the action on the first day of the UK Indoor Championships were not disappointed, with the Commonwealth silver medallist clearing 4.85m on her third attempt.
Her expression of astonishment said it all. Not only was it a championships record but the first world lead set by a British athlete in any event at a UK Indoor Championships since Nicola Sanders ran 50.60 over 400m in 2007.
Last year's World Championships fifth placer will now hope she can challenge for podium positions on the biggest stage and the current evidence is more than encouraging.
Only two years ago, the 23-year-old had a best of 4.60m, which she improved to 4.75m in 2023. Just a month-and-a-half into this season, however, Caudery has cleared 4.75m, 4.83m and now 4.85m. The consistency around those heights is what excites her most and, with the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow fast approaching, her ambitions are rising too.
"It's unbelievable," she says. "I came into this season wanting to jump a 4.80m bar and, to have cleared 4.75m, 4.83m and 4.85m in my first three competitions, is just way beyond where I thought I was but it's so exciting for the future.
"The World Indoors is one event which I'm really excited for as it's just a couple of weeks away and I'm in really good shape. I want to jump as high as I can and if I can replicate a 4.85m vault then I know a medal could be on the table.
"In regards to the Paris Olympics, it's a lot further away and I don't want to take anything for granted. I want to stay healthy, hopefully make it to the start line and then just see what happens there."
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Caudery doesn't have to look far for inspiration. Holly Bradshaw claimed Great Britain's first ever Olympic pole vault medal in Tokyo three years ago and is the British record-holder with 4.90m.
The fact that Caudery attempted a height of 4.91m at the UK Indoor Championships speaks volumes about her current confidence levels.
Where does that come from? Bradshaw is a big influence and the importance of the support of her family and friends cannot be understated.
"I still see Holly [Bradshaw] every day at the track more or less and she's super supportive," Caudery adds. "To know that kind of height could get me a medal at the Olympics blows my mind and it's just crazy.
"I haven't processed any of it, in all honesty! I'm taking every day as it comes but it's so exciting and I'm so grateful. The crowd were so loud and that got me through. I love that noise and they can keep it coming.
"Part of the reason why I was so nervous today was that my mum, dad, grandma, boyfriend and his family were all watching me. I wanted to do it all for them and to have just jumped that high in front of all of them helped me as well."
Caudery has overcome a variety of injuries, from nearly chopping off her finger in a gym accident on Christmas Eve in 2021 to Achilles pain in 2022, and is now reaping the rewards for just sticking to the cause.
In an exclusive interview with AW last month, she stated that "self-visualising the perfect jump had a huge impact in getting through rehab".
Now, if Caudery continues her upward trajectory, then who knows what's possible?
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