World Championships 2023: Katie Moon and Nina Kennedy share pole vault gold medal in Budapest
- Published
World Athletics Championships 2023: 'Are you sure?' - Kennedy & Moon decide to share pole vault gold
Katie Moon and Nina Kennedy decided to share their pole vault gold medal in a touching moment at the World Championships in Budapest.
American Moon and Australia's Kennedy both cleared 4.90m but missed all three attempts at 4.95m after a draining two hours and 10 minutes.
They could have gone to a jump-off but ultimately decided to share the gold.
"It is so beautiful - it really displays what our sport is about," Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill said on BBC TV.
The moment was reminiscent of Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi sharing high jump gold at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
After an exhausting competition in warm temperatures, Moon and Kennedy had a brief conversation about continuing before sharing a hug.
They agreed to split the medal and celebrated with bronze medallist Wilma Murto of Finland.
"When the final started I didn't think about sharing a gold medal would work for me but now I am completely satisfied," Moon said.
"What a battle it was, oh my. What an amazing night, I hope everyone enjoyed that one. We did."
Moon was the defending world title holder, while Kennedy's jump saw her set a new national record.
"If I was in that moment, I probably would have wanted the gold for myself!" former Olympic heptathlon champion Ennis-Hill joked.
"I am a big softie [really] - two epic performances and they've both come away with that gold medal."
Kennedy described the gold medal as "a dream come true".
"I jumped out of my skin tonight. It was super crazy," she added.
"I felt like the whole stadium was watching every single jump, they were all around us tonight, it was really incredible."