Pole vaulter Nina Kennedy overcomes adversity to claim 2023 AJ ‘Tood’ Buswell Sports Star of the Year award

2023 was a glorious year for South Western Times AJ ‘Tood’ Buswell Sports Star of the Year award winner Nina Kennedy — but it started in inglorious fashion. A brilliant 2022 which saw the Busselton-born pole vaulter win gold at the Commonwealth Games and bronze at the World Athletics Championships in her signature event ended with the disappointing discovery of a stress fracture in her back. Overcoming challenges is nothing new for Kennedy — in the past, she has detailed her battles with depression and has beaten a lengthy list of other physical problems including quad, glute and hamstring injuries. Rest and recuperation allowed her to recover and re-find her strong form, making it all the way to the night of the pole vault final of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August. Under immense pressure on the big stage, Kennedy twice broke the Australian women’s record, vaulting heights of 4.85m and then 4.90m, but American Katie Moon stayed with her on every jump. After both failed to clear the 4.95m mark in their three attempts and could not be separated on countback, one of the event’s quirks came to the fore when they were offered the chance to share the gold medal. Both accepted and shared an embrace in heart-warming scenes. A brilliant year was made even better when she closed out the season by again breaking her own national record, clearing 4.91m at a Diamond League meet in Zurich. The superstar added another award to her burgeoning trophy cabinet by winning the award on Friday night, beating a star-studded line-up of athletes from the South West. Speaking from Qatar, where her preparations for the Paris Olympics Games later this year are ongoing, Kennedy said she was delighted to be recognised as the winner. “Thank you so much for this award,” she said. “I obviously don’t live down there but I do really, really feel supported so much by the South West and the small towns down there. “Preparations (for the Olympics) are going really well ... I’d love if you guys could tune in and support me from my home town, that would be so amazing.” Those Olympic preparations were initially cast into doubt by a recurrence of the back injury at the start of this year, which led to “two months of sitting on my a...”, but Kennedy has since made a successful return to competition, finishing second in a Diamond League meet in Doha at the weekend. Speaking after the event, she said she was satisfied with her performance in difficult conditions. “I think my mindset has changed since winning the world title,” she said. “This is my first competition back with the best girls in the world. “I’m a little bit rusty but if anything has changed, it’s just that I have higher expectations of myself now.” Kennedy joins an illustrious list of the South West’s finest athletes who have won the award over its 64-year history, including Margaret River surfer Jack Robinson (2022), race walker Lyn Ventris (2001, 2002, 2005, 2018) and golfer Glenn Carbon (1985). Representing the Buswell family, ‘Tood’s granddaughter Pauline Maslin said they were honoured to be involved with the award which recognised the great sporting legacy of their patriarch, which includes a long association with South Bunbury Football Club and winning multiple Bunbury Cups as a horse trainer. “It started on the back of a truck outside the Rose Hotel,” she said. “It’s been a great family thing.” South Western Times editor Amber Lilley said the organisation’s long association with the award reflected its commitment to covering sport in the South West. “We see amazing athletes every single week, we see them on our local stage,” she said. “It’s super exciting that we get a night to celebrate these people that we want to celebrate every single weekend.”