Playing it safe

Former world indoor pole vault champion Molly Caudery tells Jason Henderson why, after a series of unfortunate events, she will be exercising caution off the track as she aims to seize the many major opportunities that await in 2026

- Jason Henderson

Molly Caudery is taking no risks ahead of a 2026 summer that includes the European Championships, Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Ultimate Championships. "I don’t even run for a train now, because I wouldn't want to run without warming up," she says.

The root of the British pole vault record-holder and 2024 world indoor champion's note of caution is the “clumsiness” that has led to several injuries in the past. Most notably she sliced her finger badly when a weightlifting session went wrong four years ago while, at the World Championships in Tokyo last year, she ruptured tendons and ligaments in her ankle after catching her foot on the mat during a run-up during the warm-up, although in fairness it was probably more a case of freakishly bad luck than pure clumsiness on that occasion.

“I've pretty much taken out all of my risks,” she says. “If I can roll my ankle doing what I do, then I don’t risk doing anything else. I am really clumsy and a lot of my injuries have come from being clumsy, which is not ideal!”