Cornwall medal favourite Molly Caudery eliminated in pole vault qualifying round at Paris Olympics

The pole vaulter failed to make 4.55m in three attempts in the qualifying round, ending her 2024 Olympic hopes. Credit: PA

Cornish pole vaulter Molly Caudery is out of the Paris Olympics after failing to make it through the qualifying round in a shock exit.

The Team GB medal favourite failed to make 4.55m in three attempts.

The 24-year-old from Truro is currently the world lead in the sport after winning gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March where she also set three personal bests.

Caudery has previously said it was her "lifelong dream" to be making her Olympic debut.

Cornwall's Molly Caudery after being eliminated in the Women's Pole Vault Qualification at the Stade de France. Credit: PA

Why was Molly Caudery favourite?

Caudery was a rising star in 2023, but went to new heights at the start of 2024, as she set three personal bests in the space of just two months.

A new best height of 4.83m quickly became 4.85m as Caudery won British indoor gold with what was a world leading height.

She quickly overrode her own success, gaining an extra centimetre just a week later to send shockwaves around the pole vault world.

It was perfectly timed for the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, where she wowed the home crowd on her way to a sublime gold.

She sealed her first world title with a height of 4.80m, edging out Olympic bronze medallist Eliza McCartney and Olympic champion Katie Moon in the process.

Molly trained at Cornwall Athletics Club in Redruth between the ages of 10 and 18, one of only two clubs in the Duchy.