Molly Caudery made history at the Toulouse Capitole Perche on Saturday by clearing a world pole vault lead of 4.92m. This new height not only broke the British record but also propelled her to the seventh spot on the world all-time list. The world indoor champion surpassed her previous best of 4.86m, achieved in Rouen earlier this year, by adding six centimeters to her mark. This performance also improved Holly Bradshaw’s national record by two centimeters.
Despite the wet conditions, Caudery managed to achieve the highest women’s pole vault clearance since 2021. She started the competition at 4.36m and cleared that, as well as 4.51m and 4.61m on her first attempts. After passing at 4.67m, she needed two tries to make it over 4.73m. However, she successfully cleared 4.80m on her first attempt and her record-breaking height of 4.92m on her second try. Caudery then had a sole attempt at 5.00m, narrowly missing it.
This competition in Toulouse was the 24-year-old’s first since winning bronze at the European Championships in Rome on June 10. Prior to her performance, her previous best of 4.86m had been the world lead, with the USA’s Olympic champion Katie Moon coming in second with a 4.85m clearance achieved recently in Chula Vista.
In the men’s event at Toulouse, Thibaut Collet of France won with a height of 5.82m, while Marie-Julie Bonnin, also of France, finished second in the women’s competition with 4.51m. Additionally, at the Meeting Madrid, Mohamed Daouda Tolo set an Asian shot put record with a throw of 21.80m. Camryn Rogers set a meeting record in the hammer with a throw of 77.76m.
Overall, it was a successful weekend of athletics with notable performances across various disciplines.