There was heartbreak for British pole vault record holder Molly Caudery as she failed to qualify for the finals at the Olympics.
Mopping tears, the 24-year-old, who trains with Thames Valley Harriers at the Linford Christie stadium, Shepherds Bush, was consoled by Team GB pals after failing three times to vault 4.55m.
But there was better news for another H&F Molly, boulder climber Molly Thompson-Smith, 26, who will be taking part in Tuesday morning’s semi-finals in the women’s rock climbing, one of 68 athletes taking part after qualifying in Hungary in June.
A passionate advocate of diversity in sport, Thompson-Smith is already the holder of two international bronze medals, won in Slovenia in 2017, and Moscow in 2020.
She spent her childhood in Hammersmith & Fulham, and now has 89k followers on Instagram. She first discovered her love of the sport on her 7th birthday. “I was lucky enough to grow up in a very sporty household, and my brother and I would choose a different sport to try at every birthday party,” she said. “I remember that party so well. Pretty much from then on, I’ve never stopped climbing. I was hooked!”
Molly’s mother taught at Addison primary school in Addison Gardens, W14, while Molly represented H&F in trampolining at the London Youth Games.
The semis of the combined bouldering and competition lead climbing event begin at 9am on Tuesday in the new purpose-built climbing arena at Le Bourget, 7km to the east of the Paris Olympic village, which has three covered outdoor competition walls.
But it has been a sudden and bitterly disappointing end to Olympic dreams for Molly Caudery. Despite setting a new British record of 4.92m earlier this year, she just couldn’t reproduce her best form in the Stade de France on Monday.
Fellow Brit Holly Bradshaw, who won bronze at the last Olympics in Tokyo, also failed to make Wednesday’s finals.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Molly afterwards. “It’s not the experience I was hoping for, and I’m so sorry for everyone back home. I wish I could have done better, but it was just one of those days.”
Questions will be asked about whether she tried to do too much too quickly. While other competitors began their early attempts at lower heights, Molly pushed herself to start with a setting of 4.55m... but dislodged the bar on each occasion.
On her final run in her midnight blue outfit she appeared to have vaulted well clear, but her feet caught the bar on the descent.
But, at 24, there will be future opportunities for Molly. “I’ll use this, I’ll learn from this,” she pledged. “I’ll try to come back stronger.”
There’s still time to try out rowing at Fulham Reach Boat Club, by Hammersmith Bridge, with free water sports camps until 16 August as part of H&F’s Summer in the City programme. Information here.
You can also watch all the action from Paris 2024 in Westfield Square, at the Westfield mall in Shepherds Bush, and on the deckchairs in Lyric Square, Hammersmith, where tomorrow (Tuesday 6 August) there’s a free Family Olympics, courtesy of Chelsea FC Foundation.
