Molly Caudery sets British pole vault record ahead of Paris Games 2024

Britain’s Molly Caudery set the world’s leading height of the year and broke the British record in women’s pole vault at the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting in Toulouse on Saturday.

The 24-year-old cleared a world pole vault lead of 4.92 metres at the Toulouse Capitole Perche for the highest women’s pole vault clearance since 2021 and beat Tokyo Games bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw’s previous British record of 4.90m.

Caudery had already secured victory with an initial clearance at 4.61 m but continued to push for more and persevered in the rainy conditions. France’s Marie-Julie Bonnin finished second, with 4.51 m.

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Caudery, who said she aimed to clinch her first Olympic medal in Paris after winning the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March, has taken the current world lead with the seventh best jump of all time.

The Briton cleared 4.73 m to win bronze at the European Championships in Rome earlier in June. Her previous best was 4.86 m, set in Rouen in February.