Molly Caudery The British Pole Vault Star Taking the World by Storm
When people talk about the future of British athletics, the name Molly Caudery comes up almost instantly. This Cornwall-born pole vaulter has gone from a quiet kid on the Cornish coast to one of the most exciting athletes in the world — and she’s only just getting started. Whether you’re a hardcore athletics fan or someone who just came across her name for the first time, there’s a lot to love about Molly’s story. Let’s dive in.
Who Is Molly Caudery?
Molly Caudery is a professional British track and field athlete who specializes in the pole vault. Born on 17 March 2000 in Truro, Cornwall, she competes for both England and Great Britain on the international stage. As of 2026, she holds the title of two-time World Indoor Champion and is currently ranked #3 in the world in women’s Molly Caudery pole vault — a ranking that continues to rise with every season she competes.
She’s not just an athlete though. Molly has built a genuine public following, earned respect across the global athletics community, and become one of the faces of British sport in the modern era.
Early Life & Background: Cornwall to the World Stage
Molly Caudery grew up in the beautiful coastal county of Cornwall, and by all accounts, it was a pretty sporty household from day one. Her parents, Barbara and Stuart, were both former athletes themselves — Barbara had a background in pole vault, while Stuart competed in the decathlon. So in a lot of ways, athleticism was simply in Molly’s DNA.
She actually started out in gymnastics before making the switch to pole vault around the age of 10. The transition made sense — the two disciplines share a lot of the same physical demands, including body awareness, coordination, and explosive strength. Once she made the switch, her father Stuart began coaching her at the Cornwall Athletics Club, giving her a solid technical foundation right from the beginning.
Having parents who genuinely understood sport — and a dad who could coach her — clearly gave Molly a head start that many young athletes never get.
Education & Athletic Development
As Molly’s talent became more and more obvious, bigger opportunities started coming her way. She eventually earned a scholarship to the University of Miami, where she majored in kinesiology — the study of human movement, which fits perfectly with the demands of pole vaulting. It seemed like the ideal setup.
But Miami, for all its sunshine and world-class training facilities, didn’t quite click. Molly has openly admitted there were too many distractions for her to truly focus on her athletics. The COVID-19 pandemic also cut her time in the United States short, which pushed her back to the UK sooner than expected.
Looking back, that return home might have been the best thing that ever happened to her career. She moved to Loughborough University and began training under coach Scott Simpson, working alongside British record holder and Olympic medallist Holly Bradshaw. The setup at Loughborough gave her the structure, focus, and elite training environment she needed to truly flourish.
Junior Career: Silver Medals and Early Promise
Even before Molly hit the senior circuit, she was already turning heads. At just 17 years old, she won a silver medal at the 2017 European Athletics U20 Championships held in Grosseto, Italy — a result that announced her as a serious prospect for the future.
The following year, she was selected to represent England at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. She finished fifth in the final, but the bigger headline was that she was the youngest athlete in the entire England squad at those Games. Just being there at that age was a statement in itself.
On 23 June 2018, she also set a new British junior pole vault record of 4.53 m — proof that her development was firmly on track.
Senior Career Breakthrough: Building Toward the Top
Molly’s transition from promising junior to genuine senior contender didn’t happen overnight — it was a steady, determined climb. She won silver at the 2021 European Athletics U23 Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, and then repeated that silver medal performance representing England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham — thrilling the home crowd in the process.
The 2023 season marked another significant step forward. She won the British pole vault title at the 2023 British Championships with a personal best of 4.71 m, which was enough to qualify her for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. In Budapest, competing in one of the deepest fields in the event’s history, she cleared 4.75 m to finish fifth — a brilliant result that few people had predicted.
What made that performance even more remarkable was the fact that she’d spent much of the previous winter on crutches following two ankle surgeries. More on that shortly.
2024: Molly Caudery’s Peak Season
If 2023 was the breakthrough, then 2024 was the explosion. This was the year that Molly Caudery truly announced herself to the world.
World Indoor Gold in Glasgow
In March 2024, Molly stepped onto the track at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow — on home soil, in front of a roaring British crowd — and delivered one of the most memorable performances in British athletics history. She cleared 4.80 m to claim the gold medal, beating Olympic bronze medallist Eliza McCartney and Olympic champion Katie Moon in the process. She became Great Britain’s first-ever world champion in the women’s pole vault.
Diamond League Win & European Bronze
The momentum carried straight into the outdoor season. On 10 May 2024, Molly won her very first Diamond League event in Doha, Qatar, clearing 4.73 m. Just weeks later, she took bronze at the European Athletics Championships in Rome, Italy, on 10 June 2024 — clearing the same height.
British Record: 4.92 m
And then came the vault that really sent shockwaves through the athletics world. On 22 June 2024, at the Toulouse Capitole Perche meet in France, Molly cleared an incredible 4.92 m — a new British record and a world-leading mark at the time. That put her among the seventh-best pole vaulters of all time and firmly cemented her status as a global star.
The Paris Olympics
The Paris Olympics, however, brought a painful chapter. Despite all her incredible form leading into the Games, Molly failed to qualify for the final after missing three attempts at her opening height of 4.55 m. It was a gut-wrenching result for someone who had been one of the favourites heading in. But true to her character, Molly processed the disappointment and came back even stronger.
2025–2026: Consistency at the Highest Level
Rather than letting Paris define her, Molly used it as fuel. In February 2025, she won the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold title after two first-place finishes and a second across the competition series. The following month brought a fourth-place finish at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in China.
Come May 2025, she was back on top — winning the Doha Diamond League again with a jump of 4.75 m. She then claimed a third consecutive British outdoor title at the 2025 UK Athletics Championships, showing remarkable consistency across multiple seasons.
And then, in 2026, she went and won it all again — claiming the World Indoor Championship for a second time, officially making her a two-time World Indoor Champion and one of the most decorated British pole vaulters in history.
Molly Caudery Height and Weight
Fans often search for details about Molly Caudery’s height and weight, and for good reason — her physical profile plays a big role in her success as a pole vaulter. While exact measurements are not always publicly confirmed by the athlete, Molly’s build is that of a classically trained vaulter: lean, athletic, and strong in the upper body. Her gymnastics background from childhood gave her an excellent foundation of body control and spatial awareness, which is crucial in a technically demanding event like the pole vault.
Her athletic physique, combined with years of strength and conditioning work, has allowed her to consistently jump at the highest level. The power-to-weight ratio required for elite pole vaulting means athletes like Molly train with incredible precision — balancing speed on the runway, explosive strength in the plant, and technical control through the bar.
Molly Caudery Boyfriend & Personal Life
When it comes to Molly Caudery’s boyfriend and personal life, she tends to keep things relatively private — which is entirely her prerogative. What she has shared publicly suggests she’s someone who puts her sport first, especially during peak training and competition periods.
As for Molly Caudery partner, there hasn’t been any widely confirmed or officially announced relationship made public at the time of writing. Molly appears focused on her athletics career above all else, which given the incredible results she’s producing, is hard to argue with.
What fans do get a glimpse of is her personality through social media — where she’s warm, fun, and genuinely engaging — which only adds to the reason so many people root for her.
Injuries & Resilience: The Untold Side of Molly’s Story
One of the most important parts of Molly Caudery’s story is how she’s handled adversity, because there’s been plenty of it.
In the build-up to the 2022 season, she suffered a freak accident during a gym session that nearly cost her a finger. The digit got caught between a barbell and the weight rack, and it took three surgeries to repair. She came back from that to win silver at the Commonwealth Games. That alone tells you a lot about her character.
Then, heading into the 2023 season, she underwent two separate Achilles surgeries. The first required surgeons to go through the Achilles tendon itself to reattach it. She didn’t walk from October through to February. A second surgery followed in March. Most athletes would have written off the year entirely — but Molly went to the World Championships in Budapest and finished fifth with a personal best. Remarkable barely covers it.
She credits her comeback to consistent training, a better mental approach, and the belief that visualising her jumps — even when she couldn’t physically perform them — kept her connected to her sport. “I’ve improved physically and mentally, and I think the combination of all of that has led me to be where I am,” she has said.
Personal Brand & Social Media Presence
Away from competition, Molly Caudery has built a genuinely impressive personal brand. She’s one of the most-followed British athletes on Instagram, with only Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson ahead of her among British athletics stars. That’s serious company to be in.
She’s also an ambassador for Red Bull, aligning herself with a brand known for backing fearless, high-performance athletes. Her social media presence is authentic and engaging, which resonates particularly well with younger audiences who are discovering athletics through personalities as much as performances.
Molly represents something important for British pole vault — she’s proof that the event can produce global champions, and she’s doing it in a way that brings people along for the journey.
Future Goals: Eyes on LA 2028
Given what happened in Paris, it’s no surprise that the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles is firmly circled on Molly Caudery’s calendar. She’s spoken openly about targeting a medal in LA, and based on everything she’s shown since Paris, the belief is completely justified.
She currently sits at #3 in the world rankings, continuing to push toward the very summit of the women’s pole vault. With her British record standing at 4.92 m, a second World Indoor title already secured, and the best coaching setup of her career in place, the trajectory is pointing in one direction only.
LA 2028 could be Molly Caudery’s defining moment — and athletics fans around the world will be watching.
Final Thoughts
Molly Caudery is one of those athletes who genuinely deserves all the attention she’s getting. Her journey — from Cornwall to the world stage — is the kind of story that reminds people why sport matters. She’s dealt with serious injuries, disappointing moments, and plenty of pressure, yet she keeps coming back stronger every single time.
Whether you’ve been following her career for years or you’re just discovering her now, one thing is certain: the best of Molly Caudery pole vault is still ahead of us.
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