29 February 2024 , 08:30
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Unsponsored and barely known outside of devoted athletics circles at the start of the year, British pole vaulter Molly Caudery could conquer the world by the end of this week.
Caudery, 23, heads into this weekend’s Glasgow World Indoor Championships ranked world No 1 after a whirlwind month that has seen her smash her personal best three times.
The British champion only landed her first clothing deal with Adidas in early January but is arguably Britain’s best hope of a gold medal, which would transform her life ahead of an Olympic summer.
“I definitely didn’t expect this to happen as quickly as it has,” said the self-confessed “adrenaline junkie”, who has accrued more than 200,000 Instagram followers with her mix of sporting shots and holiday snaps.
“I thought I would just try to get to the Olympics this year, but I’ve got to adjust now, I guess. I know that 4.85m, which is what I’ve jumped so far, could be pushing towards those medal areas. So I do need to re-evaluate.
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“It’s crazy to think that could put me up there. I can’t shy away from the fact I’ve been consistently jumping 4.80m which is up there for medals. A medal could definitely be on the cards and that’s really exciting.”
Caudery celebrates after equalling a national record to win the Pole Vault at the UK Indoor Championships (PA)Hailing from Cornwall, Caudery credits her upbringing in the isolated south-west county with building resilience that has stood her in good stead through a succession of injuries and surgeries in recent years. The most shocking was a horror accident at the end of 2021, when she almost lost a finger after smashing it in half when attempting to rack a barbell in the gym.
Three operations later, she was able to compete again. “Growing up in Cornwall made me who I am,” she said. “It makes you a little bit tougher as there wasn’t much in the way of facilities.
Caudery almost lost a finger in a gruesome accident
Her injury took three operations to fix“We train outside all winter because if we did want to go indoors, we would have to drive three or four hours in the car to Bath.” A former training partner of 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Holly Bradshaw, Caudery hopes to emulate her GB team-mate this summer at the Paris Games.
“I’ve learned so much from Holly and she’s been quite a huge part of my career,” said Caudery. "She was an inspiration for me growing up and then to learn from her has been a huge help to me. An Olympic medal is everyone’s dream.”