Molly Cowdrey: British pole vaulter targeting a World Indoor Championships medal

“I'm not a big thinker, I just want to run, jump, hope for the best, and get over the hurdle.”

It's a simple strategy, but it's clearly working for pole vaulter Molly Cowdery.

The 23-year-old's UK Indoor Championships title won earlier this month saw her clear 4.85m – the highest vault in the world this year – propelling her into one of the favorites to win a medal at the World Indoor Championships, which It takes place in Glasgow. weekend.

The Cornwall-born athlete continued that record at the weekend when she jumped 4.86m in France – a jump that would have won her a silver medal at the last Olympics.

Cowdrey's rise to the top of world pole vaulting was something many expected.

But it was the injury-free winter that allowed the Redruth athlete to rise to the top of the world rankings.

“Being a world champion at the World Indoor Championships is a bit of pressure to be honest, but it's really exciting,” she told BBC Radio Cornwall.

He added: “I don't really see pressure as a negative thing, it kind of helps me.

“I went into the British Championships in first place and hoping to win, which I did, so I think I can handle it well and I just hope I can do it in Glasgow.

“Coming into this year, I was ranked in the top 10 but nowhere near that medal zone, maybe I had an outside chance on a good day.

“But I have made some very consistent jumps above 4.80 metres, and if I can jump 4.80 meters at the World Championships, that could certainly give me a chance of a medal.”

Cowdrey, who said she was “living her dream” when she won the British title last week, says she still struggles to believe she has come this far in the sport.

“Every time I compete in a major tournament, I take a moment, and that's usually when I first go out, to take a look and realize this is my dream, I'm living this, this is my life,” she said.

“I look at the lights and the crowd and I take it all in and take it all in for a minute.”

Although the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow will be raucous, it will be no match when Paris hosts the Olympics this summer.

Holly Bradshaw won bronze for Great Britain in the pole vault at the last Olympics in Tokyo, with a height of 4.85m – one centimeter short of Coderre's new personal best.

Everyone is starting to focus on Paris, but Cowdrey says she still has a long way to go before she can even think about emulating Bradshaw's feat — or even bettering it.

“People keep asking me about the Olympics later this year and I'm taking it day by day at the moment – ​​I need to get there first,” she says.

“I know I'm in good shape and I feel good. At the end of the day, I'm just competing against myself, and if I jump as high as I can, I might get a medal.”