Nina Kennedy and Kurtis Marschall continue WAIS pole vault legacy with selection for Tokyo Olympic Games

Published On: 18 April 2021

Pole Vaulters Nina Kennedy and Kurtis Marschall will continue the WAIS legacy at Olympic level having been selected to the Australian Olympic Team for the Tokyo Games.

In 2018 the pair claimed Commonwealth Games medals on the Gold Coast with Marschall taking gold and Kennedy bronze. Three years on and they are both positioning for a run at the podium on the biggest sporting stage.

24-year-old Kennedy’s selection follows an outstanding domestic season, where she has cleared the automatic qualifying height of 4.70m in all nine competitions including setting a new Australian Record of 4.82m last month. The latest of 4.75m at the Australian Track and Field National Championships on April 17 sealed her ticket to Tokyo.

With the current world leading height, Kennedy has pushed herself in to medal contention with her consistency over recent months unrivalled.

Rio Olympian Marschall rediscovered his world challenging form at the Jandakot Airport Track Classic in February 2020, where he soared over 5.80 metres to book himself an automatic qualifier. A strong season over the last five months has seen him again clear 5.80 as well as edge closer to a new outdoor personal best. 

Marschall who turns 24 in a week will be hoping to build on his experience from five years ago.

Coached by WAIS Head Coach Paul Burgess the pair will look to follow in the footsteps of Burgess himself a three time Olympian and Steve Hooker, Emma George and Dmitri Markov.

Kennedy and Marschall’s selection increased the number of Western Australian’s selected to the Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo to 16. Further athletics selections will be made in the coming months.