Nina Kennedy & Katie Moon: How the world champion pole vaulters decouple self-worth and success
For Mental Health Month, a discussion with the co-world champs about ignoring external noise, how a sisterhood of support is elevating their discipline, and the impact of their headline-grabbing decision.
Athletics
Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon made global headlines when the two pole vaulters shared the world title in August, having finished the event with the exact same number of attempts and clears.
But as the discussion catapulted Kennedy into mainstream status in her home country of Australia by becoming its first female world champ in the event, the 26-year-old says her life hasn’t changed much.
Actually, at all.
“I've worked really, really hard in the last few years at not letting my self-worth as a human get tied up in winning,” she told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview alongside Moon.
“This win doesn't make me a better person,” she continued. “My family isn't going to love me more, and my friends are still going to talk to me the same way. Yes, the media has blown up... but I’ve decoupled my performance and my self-worth. [They’re two] very different things.”
It’s a resounding message for Mental Health Month this October, and one that Moon whole-heartedly agreed with. The two world champions are also united in blocking out the pushback that has come their way for choosing to share the title.
“Until you're literally in that position, having battled two days basically back-to-back and have jumped two national records and attempted an all-time personal best and had a good day... until you're out there, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to take your opinion super seriously,” says Moon.
Katie Moon: 'Taking time away is... so important'
What got lost in the noise of the moment was a distinct understanding of just how difficult pole vault is: The two women both cleared 4.9m (16 feet), marking only the second time that’s happened at a Worlds since the introduction of the women’s event in 1999.
Kennedy recalls a training mate breaking both his ankles when he missed the mat on an attempt in practice, and Moon confirms the mental rigors that accompany such a physically demanding discipline.
“I always take four weeks completely off, don’t touch a pole,” the American Moon said of how she disengages from the stringent nature of what they do. “I actually don’t do any sort of physical activity: I don’t work out, don’t run, lift. Last year it was six weeks because I was struggling mentally; the post-Olympic blues. I had to step away.”
Having captured Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, Moon catapulted herself into the 2021-22 season, winning a world indoor silver medal and then claiming the world title in front of home fans in Eugene, Oregon, in August of last year.
“Taking that time away from the sport is so important so that it continues to be this fun thing that I get to do,” Moon added. “So I don't get that burnt out feeling. And then when I show up to training, it’s me: I'm excited and am all systems go.”
“Any day job in Australia you have to take four weeks off,” added Kennedy. “So why isn't it the same kind of thing for us? Rest the body, rest the mind. I'm always excited to just not think about athletics for a little while. Switch off the socials and just like... be normal, you know?”
Nina Kennedy: 'Holly Bradshaw is an amazing advocate'
Earlier this year, Tokyo bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw spoke out about athlete mental health and online abuse from fans in regard to body image exclusively to Olympics.com: “I had people calling me fat on social media. It was really, really hurtful."
Her bravery in speaking out resonated with Kennedy.
“I think Holly has been an amazing advocate for speaking out about mental health in sport,” she said. “She’s someone I honestly look up to so much.”
Moon (who formerly competed under her maiden name, Nageotte), who spoke out at the time in support of Bradshaw, re-iterated her you-don’t-know-what-it’s-like-to-walk-in-our-shoes stance.
“Until you have a pole in your hand...” Moon said, taking a deep breath. “And you’ve given everything you have...”
Even as the event has raised the bar – literally – over the past few years, the community has remained a strong, supportive, encouraging place, Kennedy and Moon agreed.
“What we do is so niche and rare that we really truly understand and respect what one another put into this ridiculous sport in a way that not many people do,” Moon said. “There is always that underlying level of respect. And so I think [at Worlds] you just really saw what women's pole vault is. At the end of the day, we all want to beat each other, but we all really like each other, too.”
On sharing their pole vault world title in Budapest
Following their shared Worlds triumph, Moon and Kennedy traded head-to-head victories: Nina won indoors in Zurich before Katie topped the field outdoors in Eugene.
They both planned on that aforementioned time away from training, but also reflected further on what that co-world champion title means not just for them individually, but how athletes and the greater public can view sport.
“Katie and I weren’t thinking about this in the moment, but this has been so good for women in sport,” Kennedy said. “In Australia, the conversation was, ‘this what sportsmanship looks like. This is what sport is truly about.’ If I think about it, that’s what I truly value. Yeah, I want to win, but winning with Katie? I was like, ‘We’re going down in history. This is awesome.’”
“What I trained my whole life for is to work hard so when I have a day when I feel off, I’m still contending for a world title,” Moon added. “My goal going into every major competition is to make the final, get to the podium, and then win. It’s, ‘Jump, next bar. Jump, next bar.’
She continued: “The whole point of a World championship is finding out who the best is on the day. We did that.”