'Disappointed' Caudery misses out on world indoor medal
Great Britain's Molly Caudery was unable to defend her women's pole vault title as she finished fourth at the World Indoor Athletics Championships.
Gold in Glasgow 12 months ago represented Caudery's first global title, but the 25-year-old fell agonisingly short of the podium in Nanjing, China.
In a competition disrupted by technical issues, Caudery - with a season's best of 4.85m - missed out on a medal on countback after failing to clear 4.75m.
The British record holder's second-time vault over 4.70m meant she finished behind silver and bronze medallists Tina Sutej and Angelica Moser, who both made that height at the first attempt, as France's Marie-Julie Bonnin cleared 4.75m for gold.
The competition was delayed by around 40 minutes because of an issue with the technology that lifts the bar.
Once it resumed, Caudery went over 4.70m - but she could not avoid catching the bar on her way back down in her attempts at 4.75m, despite appearing to have ample height.
"I'm really disappointed - I wanted to come out here after last year and do something and I know that I'm in shape to do something," Caudery told BBC Sport.
"But that competition was really hard. There were a lot of issues and we were waiting for nearly an hour at one point.
"I'm not putting too much blame on myself. I'm not saying I couldn't have cleared that next bar because I think I had three good attempts.
"I feel a bit flat, to be honest, after that."
Caudery failed to qualify for the Olympic final last summer, despite entering Paris 2024 as one of the favourites after a breakthrough season in which she broke Holly Bradshaw's national record with a vault over 4.92m.
Eager to use that disappointment to fuel a pursuit of more major titles, Caudery made a promising start to 2025 by clearing 4.85m in February.
She took the decision to miss the European indoors two weeks ago to focus fully on her title defence here while she managed a minor calf injury, but will now fix her attention on a gold medal bid at the World Championships in Tokyo in September.
GB's Azu sprints to 60m gold for first global title
O'Connor had doubts before historic World Indoor silver
Gourley 'more nervous' about speech as he reaches 1500m final
Hunter Bell bids to add to GB World Indoor medal tally
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Michael Jordan, wife enjoy lavish Italy getaway aboard $115 million yacht after NBA on NBC shocker
Michael Jordan is officially in vacation mode. The NBA icon and future NBC Sports contributor recently landed in Sardinia, Italy, for a lavish European getaway with loved ones, including wife Yvette Prieto and their 11-year-old twin daughters, Victoria and Ysabel, as seen in photos obtained Tuesday by The Post. Jordan, 62, exited the aircraft in a faded red T-shirt and floral print shorts while Prieto, his wife of 12 years, opted for a white tank top and black sweatpants. Advertisement 7 Michael Jordan puffing on his trademark cigar aboard his yacht moored in Porto Cervo. CIAOPIX/FREZZA LAFATA/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID 7 Michael Jordan, with his wife Yvette Prieto with their twin daughters Victoria and Ysabel, arrive in style via their private jet in Sardinia. CIAOPIX/FREZZA LAFATA/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID The group later moved from land to sea, where the six-time NBA champion was photographed smoking a cigar in casual threads aboard his megayacht, worth a reported $115 million. Advertisement Jordan, who typically vacations in Europe over the summer, shocked the sports media landscape last month when it was revealed he's joining NBC as a special contributor for the network's NBA coverage in the upcoming 2025-26 season. 'The NBA on NBC was a meaningful part of my career, and I'm excited about being a special contributor to the project. I'm looking forward to seeing you all when the NBA on NBC launches this October,' he said in a statement at the time. 7 Michael Jordan enjoys a cigar aboard his $115 million yacht. CIAOPIX/FREZZA LAFATA/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID Although details surrounding Jordan's NBC role are scarce, CBNC suggested in May 'the initial plan is for Jordan to appear in taped segments during the season to provide analysis that will air during pregame shows or halftime shows.' Advertisement The NBA announced in July 2024 that the league had signed an 11-year media rights agreement with NBC, the Walt Disney Company and Amazon Prime that runs through the 2035-36 season. 7 Michael Jordan and pals hang out on the NBA legend's yacht in Italy. CIAOPIX/FREZZA LAFATA/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID 7 Michael Jordan and pals hang out on the NBA legend's yacht in Italy. CIAOPIX/FREZZA LAFATA/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID NBC has been loading up on talent for its NBA coverage this offseason, tapping Carmelo Anthony as a studio analyst in May. Jamal Crawford and Reggie Miller will serve as game analysts while Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle are the play-by-play callers. Advertisement Jordan played in the NBA for 15 seasons and won six titles with the Bulls in the 1990s. A 14-time NBA All-Star and five-time league MVP, he spent the final two years of his Hall of Fame career with the Wizards before retiring after the 2002-03 season. 7 Michael Jordan, with his wife Yvette Prieto with their twin daughters Victoria and Ysabel, arrive in style via their private jet in Sardinia. CIAOPIX/FREZZA LAFATA/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID 7 Michael Jordan, with his wife Yvette Prieto with their twin daughters Victoria and Ysabelboard Jordan's yacht moored in Porto Cervo. CIAOPIX/FREZZA LAFATA/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID Jordan's NBC payday has been heavily speculated in recent weeks, with Front Office Sports' Ryan Glasspiegel reporting Monday that the rumored annual salary of $40 million is 'inaccurate.'
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 10: Kayla Harrison rockets to P4P No. 1
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 10: Kayla Harrison rockets to P4P No. 1 With an utterly dominant dismantling of Julianna Peña, Kayla Harrison took home more than just a piece of hardware. Now Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) tops our women's MMA pound-for-pound list after her submission of Peña (13-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in the second round to win the 135-pound strap in the UFC 316 co-main event. Harrison was a two-time lightweight $1 million champion in the PFL and won two Olympic gold medals in judo. Now she has a title from MMA's biggest promotion – and 20 pounds lower than the more comfortable natural weight she started her career at. In the UFC 316 headliner, Merab Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) put on a dominant display, as well, when he submitted ex-champ Sean O'Malley (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in the third round of their rematch. Dvalishvili already was king of the hill at men's bantamweight – but did O'Malley drop with the loss? Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.\
Buzz Feed
an hour ago
- Buzz Feed
Brad Pitt Reveals "F1" Film Was His Dream Experience
Motorsport fans are about to get a high-octane dose of cinema with F1 — the upcoming highly-anticipated film that's already being hailed as one of the most ambitious racing movies ever made. Directed by Top Gun: Maverick's Joseph Kosinski, F1 stars Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a retired Formula 1 driver who returns to the sport to race for a fictional team called APXGP (pronounced 'apex'). He's joined by British actor Damson Idris, who plays rookie teammate Joshua Pearce. And while the team and characters may be fictional, almost everything else about the film is very, very real. While kicking off the press tour in Mexico City, Pitt called the project 'a dream come true', revealing that he'd been trying to make a racing film for decades. 'For me, it was just a no-brainer,' he said. 'When Joe had this audacious plan to invent us in the racing season, to put us actually in the cars, it was just a dream come true.' Kosinski's vision was clear from the beginning: to make the most immersive and realistic racing film ever made. That meant no faking it — Pitt and Idris had to actually learn how to drive. 'We started this training and we ended up getting to drive for basically two years in the making of this,' Pitt explained. 'By the end of it, Damps and I — I say we were quite tasty… as drivers.' That realism extended beyond just learning how to drive. Pitt and the production team — with major help from seven-time world champion and executive producer Lewis Hamilton — gained access to the inner workings of F1, even sitting in on drivers' meetings to ensure authenticity. Pitt said it was important to earn the respect of the sport and its athletes. 'We had to go in and just try to earn their trust, let them know how much we respect the sport, how much we want to get it right, and how much we want to include them,' he shared. The cars themselves posed another challenge. Pitt described the Formula 1 steering wheel as 'extreme', filled with too many buttons to count. 'The idea of being in the car and dealing with these forces, G-forces, the physics of it all, is just something you cannot fake,' he said. 'It is incredible what these guys can do.' He added that the precision and speed required from F1 drivers was 'staggering', especially considering how tightly packed the grid is during races. 'The idea that these guys can go around a four-mile track and all be within one second of each other — it's awesome,' Pitt said. 'It's a religion for me. The downforce, the way these cars stick — there's nothing I can compare it to.' A huge part of the film's authenticity comes from Hamilton's input — both creatively and technically. 'We would have meetings with him — some 12-hour meetings — as we developed the story and the script,' Pitt said. 'A lot of him is in the film, certainly in the way the story ends. Even in post, he would tell us things like, 'You're in the wrong gear at Turn 6', or, 'Make sure you add the reverb when you go down the straight'. His knowledge is unfathomable.' F1 hits Australian cinemas on June 26, 2025 and judging by the scale, the access, and the passion behind it, it's set to become a defining moment in motorsport cinema.
