Click here to read part one of the interview.
This year, you’ll be going to the Olympics as defending champion. That’s something you’ve already experienced at the World Championships. Did you attack Budapest with a different mentality last year, knowing you were already world champion?
Going into Budapest was a lot more fun than going into Eugene, because I just had a lot more confidence. We really attacked that meet in a much different way, even in terms of planning and passing bars. In Eugene, I was on a short approach and I kind of had to almost compete my way into shape. In Budapest, we took a much more aggressive approach. It was a whole different feel. I knew that I was in a place where I was capable of winning.
It turned out to be a battle for the ages…
The thing about that event was that from the prelim to final, everything about it was just the most intense thing that I had ever experienced. The prelims at a major championships always bring out a lot more emotion than a regular competition, because you have to be so intentional. You have to make the final, and you know you have to do it in as few jumps as possible. Every bar brings up a level of emotion that drains your energy just that little bit more. In Budapest, it took me three jumps to make the final. I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but in the past, there’s often been times where I've made it with one jump. And then coming back two days later, as I started jogging, I didn't feel as sharp as you would want to going into a World Championship final. I knew it was going to be more of a battle.
You and Nina Kennedy both cleared 4.90m and failed to clear 4.95m, before deciding to share the gold medal rather than go into a jump-off. Talk us through that decision.
When we got through to 90, I was feeling pretty fatigued. And then Nina cleared 90, and my adrenaline shot sky high. My whole body was tingling. You can't fake that. Like it was such a cool feeling. When I picked up my pole for my third attempt, I remember saying to myself, you're gonna like this. This is gonna be good. And I did clear it, but with that came a big crash. My first attempt at 95 was a good attempt, and then everything I had just crashed because I was already starting to fatigue. The adrenaline had spiked, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to bring it pack up. So I was a little annoyed that we had to go to a jump-off because the thought of jumping again was just so daunting. Obviously I would have done it, because I'm a competitor. But when she walked up and we were talking about what happens next, she seemed hesitant, that's when it clicked in my head: Oh yeah, we can share!
So it was a spontaneous decision?
Her coach had come up to my coach earlier on when we had been tied for a while and said, would Katie be interested in sharing? And my coach, Brad said: ‘That is so her decision. I'm not even gonna put that in her head.’ So I made the decision myself in the moment. Afterwards, I walked over to him and I said, ‘are you mad at me?’, and he was like “No!”. I was so happy for that, because he's the only person where I really would have cared about his opinion. I'm really proud of that whole meet and how it played out. It was really cool. How often as an individual athlete do you have a moment where two people walk away truly ecstatic? It was so much fun. It was just really fun sharing that with her.
