Pole Vault Duo Selected for World Junior Championships

WAIS pole vault talents Nina Kennedy and Emma Philippe have been named on the Australian Spark team to tackle the 2014 IAAF Junior World Championships in Eugene, USA from July 22-27.

The pair earned selection after impressing at the recent Australian Junior Championships, with both athletes having also represented Australia at last year’s Youth World Championships in Ukraine.

The girls are part of a 61 strong Australian team set for the Championships, with the travelling team set to be the country’s biggest representative team, eclipsing the number of athletes that competed on home soil when Sydney hosted the titles in 1996.

Athletics Australia Junior High Performance Manager Sara Mulkearns said the record breaking squad was a warm reflection of the high quality standard of athlete and coaching in Australia’s development pathway.

“The size of this team, and the depth of talent within it, comes as a direct consequence of the tireless work of our developing junior athletes alongside their skilled personal coaches. I congratulate all those that have earned their Australian Spark uniform in 2014,” she said.

Kennedy and Philippe’s selection continues a fine tradition for the WAIS pole vault program, under the guidance of head coach Alex Parnov, who can add the accolade of coaching another two athletes onto an Australian representative team, to a list of achievements that includes mentoring Olympic, World Championship and Commonwealth Games gold medallists.