Liz Parnov says she is finding her groove ahead of April’s Commonwealth Games. Photo: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)
Camera IconLiz Parnov says she is finding her groove ahead of April’s Commonwealth Games. Photo: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images) Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Commonwealth Games: Pole vaulter prepared to go to great heights for medal

Bryce LuffMelville Gazette

PERTH pole vaulter Liz Parnov is confident she will be in top shape to enter the “dog fight” for a medal at the Commonwealth Games.

Parnov will remain in WA to prepare for April’s grand event on the Gold Coast, with six competitions between now and then to ensure she is good to go.

But if Thursday’s training session is anything to go by – where the 23-year-old cleared a height just 1cm short of her 4.51m personal best – she appears on course.

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“It’s been a bit of a different prep for me,” she said.

“I was sick quite a bit – I had tonsillitis and a whole lot of other stuff – so it’s taken me a little bit longer to find my groove, but I’m confident in seven weeks I’ll be at my best shape.”

Parnov said she would love to medal at her third Games but knew her competition, including stablemate and friend Nina Kennedy, would not roll over.

“I think the competition is going to be really fierce,” she said.

“We’ve got some really strong girls – not only Nina – but we’ve got lots of strong New Zealand girls and a lot of strong Canadians and British, so it’s going to be a real dog fight.”

Kennedy jetted off for England this week to compete in the World Indoor Championships, having just recently set a new a new PB of 4.71m.

The 20-year-old said the trip would be a circuit breaker and keep her fresh for the Games in her home country.

“When you’re focusing on one thing for so long it can get a little bit in your head,” she said.

“So going away, just doing some fun competitions and then doing a real big competition, it’s good.”

Kennedy said she would “trust my process” in an effort to overcome the nerves that came with competing at the Commonwealth Games.

“I just have to treat it like a normal competition or a normal training session,” she said.

“I’m practicing that every session, every competition, so hopefully when I get there it’s second nature to me.”

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