Caudery targets British record and medal in Tokyo

Molly Caudery believes she is capable of breaking the British pole vault record and winning a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

The 25-year-old from Cornwall set a new British best of 4.92m last year and was the highest-ranked competitor heading into last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

However, Caudery did not make the Olympic final as she failed to register a successful vault in qualifying.

After an up-and-down season, she feels she is peaking at the right time for Tokyo – where she will begin qualifying on Monday with a view to making Wednesday’s final.

“I think if you jump a British record, not to take it for granted, but you’re probably going to be in that medal territory,” she told the BBC.

“I definitely am in that shape.

Caudery, who won European Championship bronze and the World Indoor Championships last year, came second in her most recent event at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels last month with a clearance of 4.80m.

She jumped 4.85m to win the British title in early August and hopes that a repeat of those heights can get her on the podium.

She continued: “Looking at past competitions and the kind of marks that have got on the podium in previous competitions, there’s always a mark around 4.80m.

“But with pole vault it could be 4.90m-plus if the conditions are great and it could be 4.70m if it’s raining or windy out there.

“There’s previous evidence to show what it would be around 4.80-4.85, but you just never know.”

Caudery said she has “learned so much” from her Olympic experience in Paris last summer, when she entered qualifying 35cm higher than the other athletes but failed to get over 4.55m.