Eliza McCartney

Eliza McCartney’s introduction to the world of pole vaulting was all about good timing.

The Rio Olympic Games bronze medallist, whose smile enchanted a nation, reckons she “stumbled” into becoming a professional athlete.

A typical Kiwi kid, she was into any sport that looked like fun. After starting athletics at age 11, she became a promising high jumper. “I loved the jumping part the most,” she says.

It was at the North Island athletics championships McCartney heard the ground announcer introduce the start of the pole vault competition. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, you can do that here? That’s so cool!’” she says with her hallmark wide-eyed enthusiasm.

She then tried out pole vaulting at the AUT Millennium, where she still trains today, and loved it. But she says she had no intention or ambition to become one of the world’s best. “I was just enjoying sport, and [pole vault] just happened to be the one I was best at,” McCartney says.

“It wasn’t like I thought I’d grow up and be an athlete one day. I had all these academic dreams. I wanted to be a doctor. I didn’t think sport would carry on after school.

“But it was just one of those timing things. I stumbled into being a professional athlete without necessarily thinking that would be what I’d do. It was just one of those fortuitous things that just ended up happening in quite an organic way.”

In her final year of high school at Auckland’s Takapuna Grammar, McCartney went to the world junior athletics championships, and won bronze in the pole vault. It was that initial realisation she could be competitive on the world stage that made McCartney think again about her future.

“When I left school, I thought ‘Wow I should give this a crack and not just leave it all behind right now’ So, I started at university part-time and started focusing more on pole vault,” says McCartney, who’s still studying for an environmental science degree.

From there, McCartney’s ascent was rapid. She was just two years out of high school when she propelled her way into pole vault final at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. From there, her life changed dramatically – for better, and for worse.

The year 2023 is one McCartney will remember for all the right reasons. After years of injury struggles, where she seriously questioned why she was persevering with her rehab and training, she was finally able to compete again. And in the blink of an eye, she’d qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

“This year was crazy. It felt like I went from zero to 100. I just got back into pole vaulting again after years of not being able to compete… then all of a sudden, I was jumping high at all the big events,” she says. “And it was almost like I wasn't ready for it.

“But it meant I went into the year with this really great attitude... it almost felt like I was on borrowed time. And now I'm back, I get to travel, I get to compete. I get to do all these amazing things. How lucky am I to get to do this? It just brings this whole new layer of gratitude for what we get to do.”

In July, McCartney returned to international competition for the first time in four years, and instantly made the podium at the Diamond League in Lausanne at a height of 4.71m.

She then cleared 4.73m at a meet in Barcelona to automatically qualify for next year’s Olympic Games – and nailed 4.85m (one of the highest vaults in her career) to win a meet in Luxembourg.  

While her troublesome Achilles tendon flared up at the world championships in Budapest, she was more than happy to be back and flying again.

There are a few years in her career McCartney says are now a blur. Days where she could barely walk; days where she would break down in tears in training. “Days where I’ve been completely broken and not known what to do with myself,” she says.

A person who loves planning and being organised, McCartney struggled when injuries meant she was no longer in control of her situation.

“I had in my head that I was going to go to the Olympics, I was going to keep progressing, and I was going to get more medals,” she says. “That was suddenly taken away from me. That’s a really challenging thing to go through because it’s a bit like an identity crisis. I was like a professional athlete up here and all of a sudden, I couldn’t even pole vault, I couldn’t even walk most days at the worst.”

On the days when McCartney questioned why she continued, it was the support of others that helped her carry on. 

“Support gets you through it - whether that’s your support at home and your support from high performance and your support from your sport. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to do it if I didn’t have that encouragement and support to keep going,” she says.

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the resources. I have complicated issues now and those aren’t things I can handle by myself, they take a lot of time and thought and a team around me to work out how to approach things.”

She also maintained a mindset that she wasn’t yet done. “I’m not going to leave it like this… I’ve got goals. I know what my potential is and I might not achieve my potential, but I’m going to give it a good crack. I know I can jump higher than this.

“And I’m being supported to give it another crack. So I’ll take it, I’ll just do it.”

The Rio Olympic Games were an incredible experience for a fresh-faced 19-year-old Kiwi pole vaulter. She wasn’t weighted down by expectation or pressure; she was simply there to enjoy the Games.

“Being in the village with the athletes; everything that comes with an Olympics - I absolutely loved it. And that kind of attitude I think is what helped me so much on the day [of competition],” McCartney says.

She also took the advice of BMX Olympic silver medallist Sarah Walker, who helped her with her mindset and mental approach to competition – to enjoy herself and go out and do her best. “Some of the advice she gave me I hold onto so tightly even now,” she says.

McCartney’s form and technical ability made a “massive jump” in 2016 leading up to the Olympics – her personal best soaring to 4.80m early in that year. It suddenly threw her onto the world stage and into possible medal contention in Rio. 

On the day of the Olympic pole vault competition, everything clicked for McCartney. She led the contest, equalling her PB, and was the only vaulter to get that far with a clean sheet. Although she missed her three attempts at 4.85m, her radiant smile knowing she had won a bronze medal in her first major competition was captivating.

“My mindset meant I went into the final just enjoying it, jumping my heart out and just loving it. I could jump freely, jump my best,” McCartney says.

Before that competition, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games had been her focus to make the podium. When she missed out on that opportunity to repeat her success, through injury, she was devastated.

But she’s worked hard on her technique and her mental resilience for that chance to come around again, in Paris next year.

“Being in the New Zealand team for Paris makes it all worth it in some ways - just to be at that level again, to be at the Olympics, which is just so much fun and just so enjoyable,” McCartney says. “You feel good at what you do, and you get to do it with all these other people and it's just such an amazing thing to be part of. Since I didn't go to Tokyo, I’m going to be even more grateful for Paris.”