Molly Caudery reclaimed her world indoor title with victory in the women’s pole vault at the Kujawy Pomorze 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships on Sunday (22), clearing 4.85m to secure gold.
The triumph marked a moment of redemption for the British athlete, who has struggled to replicate her best form at major championships since winning gold in Glasgow in 2024.
She failed to progress beyond the qualifying rounds at the Paris Olympics, while a freak warm-up injury ruled her out of last year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Competitive resilience
In Kujawy Pomorze, however, Caudery showed her competitive resilience. She went head-to-head with Slovenia’s experienced Tina Šutej as the pair emerged as the final two athletes in contention at 4.85m. Both had been flawless up to that point, but each failed on their first attempt at the height.
At the second time of asking, Caudery delivered—clearing 4.85m as Šutej faltered. The Slovenian, silver medallist in Nanjing last year, had one final attempt to stay in contention but failed to clear, handing the title to Caudery.
For Šutej, it marked an impressive eighth major championship medal, though her wait for a gold continues.
Bronze was shared between European indoor and outdoor champion Angelica Moser, Czechia’s Amálie Švábíková, and New Zealand’s Imogen Ayris, all of whom recorded clean cards before exiting the competition at 4.80m.