Eliza McCartney couldn’t quite deliver the gold medal everyone so wanted her to win tonight.
The popular Aucklander finished second in the women’s pole vault. She cleared 4.70m and was beaten by Canadian Alysha Newman, who got over 4.75m.
McCartney, 21, started the competition well with first-time clearances at 4.55m and 4.65m. She had a miss then a clearance at 4.70m, then missed twice at 4.75m. Her last attempt was at 4.80m – she was forced to go up because Newman had cleared 4.75m.
Her last attempt was a good one. She had the height, but clipped the bar on the way down.
“I’m a little disappointed not so much with not winning, but with not clearing more heights. I know I can clear those heights.
“So it was a little disappointing not to be able to pull it out, but saying that I gave it everything I had out there today.”
Newman had a funny competition. She had two misses at 4.70m, then went up to 4.75m for what many felt would be her last jump of the competition. She cleared that height and suddenly the gold medal was hers.
McCartney, still in the early stages or her career – even if she does have an Olympic bronze medal tucked away at home – said she had recently moved to bigger poles.
“I need to do it, but it takes a bit of getting used to. You have to use more energy to get over the pole and over the bar.”
She said she felt she was going well until the last couple of jumps. “There’s a lot I’m still learning. I know I have more in me and hopefully I’ll have 10 more years in this event.
“So it’s early days. Everything doesn’t always work out just how you want straight away.”
Fellow New Zealander Olivia McTaggart finished ninth with a best clearance of 4.30m.