Pole vaulter says new event in Birmingham on February 15 will help draw interest in athletics ahead of the UK Indoor Champs a few days later

Molly Caudery is one of the latest athletes to sign up to compete in the Keely Klassic in Birmingham on February 15 and the world indoor pole vault champion believes the innovative new meeting is what's needed to breath fresh interest into the sport.

AW: How are you feeling about competing in the Keely Klassic?

Molly Caudery: I think it's going to be great for UK Sport and athletics in the UK, because I feel like, besides the London Diamond League and the national championships, there are no other events where the international athletes come over. It's such a fun opportunity for people to come and watch and get involved. Keely will be there, I'm going to be there, Jake Wightman has been announced and so has Georgia Bell – it's going to be a really good competition for people to come and watch and enjoy. With it being the week before the UK Indoor Championships, as well, it should hopefully get some more people interested in the sport.

AW: How important is it for athletics to be able to build on things like Keely’s growing profile and popularity?

Caudery: I think track and field is, I don't want to say a dying sport, because people are still interested in it, but the Olympics is always the peak of that and then it might drop off a little bit. So I think that keeping the people interested, giving them something to watch, to come to and being a part of is really important. I'm excited to be a part of that as well and influence it in any way I can.

AW: You're now part of a group of female athletes who are extremely prominent in the British team. Your profile has been growing too.

Caudery: I wouldn't even really put myself in that group but I guess I kind of am creeping into there. Growing up, I was watching KJT, Dina and people like that on the TV, and [though I don’t think] I'm quite at that level, I'm growing to be kind of in that circle with them.

Keely is just a huge inspiration. She's a little bit younger, but she's done a huge thing for track and field and athletics in the UK, by winning the Olympics and Sports Personality of the Year. That doesn’t happen very often, so that's really exciting and to be a part of that is very special for me.

AW: With new events like the Keely Klassic coming on to the calendar, does it feel like the athletics landscape is changing?

READ MORE: Big names sign up for the Keely Klassic

Caudery: There almost needs to be a change in some way. Track and field has obviously been going on for a long time and, as an athletics fan, it's so fun and engaging. But there are so many new sports – like CrossFit, Hyrox and padel tennis that are coming in, and they have huge crowds. Then we have our athletics, and we have not very many people turning up.

It's like we're missing something and I think people are trying to find what we're missing and trying to make it more exciting, which is very important, without losing the history and the specialness of the sport, because that's what I love about it. It's finding that balance but I think it is necessary that people are finding different ways of presenting the sport.

Look out for the full interview with Molly Caudery in the February issue of AW magazine, which is out soon.

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