Kurtis Marschall

BIOGRAPHY

The youngest athlete in the pole vault at the Rio Olympics, Kurtis Marschall was a talented junior. After no heighting at his second Olympics in Tokyo and being seemingly stuck as a 5.80m vaulter, in late 2022 an adjustment to his training would see him finish on the podium at the 2023 world championships.

A young Kurtis Marschall joined his local Little Athletics Centre aged eight. An allrounder, he started to excel in the long jump. Then in 2008 was inspired by Australian pole vaulter Steve Hooker winning gold. Now aged 12, he attended a ‘come-and-try-day’ in Adelaide where he vaulted just two metres in the pole vault.

During this time he was also showing some promise playing Australian football for Happy Valley in the Southern Football League, before gaining selection in West Adelaide’s junior development squads.

When he started high school, it became clear he was more talented in athletics. Reflecting in later years he said:
“I chose a sport where you could travel the world instead of travelling the country.”

He started training with Alan Launder in Adelaide and by age 16 Kurtis had already vaulted over five metres. Kurtis was devastated when in 2014 Launder tragically passed away. Kym Simons, who had also been assisting, then coached him for the next few years. That same year, Kurtis made his international debut at the World U20 Championships. 

In 2016 in Germany ahead of his second World U20 Championships appearance, he cleared an extortionary 5.70m, locking up Olympic qualification. It was also the highest vault by a junior in the world for three years.

At the World U20s he won silver and three weeks later in Rio, missed qualifying for the Olympic pole vault final on countback. Aged 19, he was the youngest in the field by three years. 
In 2017 he was 11th in the final at the world championships, then a year later at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games he claimed gold for Australia. 

In late 2018 his good run of no injuries ceased when his pole plant went wrong at the Brussels Diamond League, resulting in him landing on the base of the uprights. He fractured his heel bones (calcaneus) on both legs. He rushed back into competition in early 2019, but coming back from the injury too soon led to a niggling pain in his shoulder, which turned out to be a tear in the tendon of his rotator cuff. He was using parts of his back too much, loading it with acute pressure, and that caused him to get a stress fracture in the L5 disc of his spine.

After a period of rehabilitation seven months later he returned and in his first competition of 2020, he cleared 5.80m, but then COVID closed down the season. Marschall took time to nurture his back, his shoulder and his feet.

He returned to competition over the summer of 2020/21, clearing a best of 5.80m ahead of selection in his second Olympic team. In Tokyo there was a hiccup when he had to isolate from the Australian team, outside of the village after a COVID scare. He had been at the same training venue as American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks, who would later test positive for COVID. 
"I gave him a handshake. He wasn't wearing a mask. I was just stoked to see him. I was wearing a mask, we embraced, and it turns out the bloody idiot had COVID," said Kurtis. 
"There was an hour where I was absolutely stressing, the Games could have been over if I wasn't vaccinated, and I wasn't wearing a mask. Luckily, I was and luckily protocols have supported me in the Games." 

All clear he took his position in the qualifying rounds. After a first attempt clearance at 5.75m he cemented his spot among the top-12. But in the final things didn’t go to plan as Kurtis no heighted at 5.55m.
"It's as simple as me not executing my queues; I used the same pole, the same stands, the same everything from the qualifying round. I came down on the bar the first time, brought the stands in, the same thing happened again and then it all happened again. Three unforgivable mistakes that I'll learn a lot from," Kurtis said. 
"No one prepares you for a no-height at the Olympics. We will have to sit down and reassess the whole season, the whole situation and use this as a genuine learning curve.”

In Eugene in 2022 at the world championships he struggled in the qualifying round, clearing his opening height of 5.50m on his third attempt and missing the next height of 5.65m and consequently, a place in the final. But two weeks later at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, he rebounded with a strong win clearing 5.70m and defending his title from the Gold Coast.

Post pandemic, which included a no height at his second Olympics in Tokyo, Kurtis Marschall was a solid and consistent 5.80m vaulter. He was not having an impact at the global meets. “I just felt sick of being a 5.80m guy, jumping it once or twice a year,” he said.

At the end of the 2022 season he sat down with his team and identified speed as his biggest weakness. He was able to improve his runup speed from 9.3m/s to 9.6m/s and refined his gym program and running mechanics. There were immediate results in early 2023 competing indoors in Europe with four consecutive 5.80+ me vaults ahead of a 5.91m PB in France. The form continued back in Australia with an outdoor PB of 5.85m in Brisbane.
Then in Europe another outdoor PB 5.90m and an indoor/outdoor best of 5.95m, again in France.

Selected in his ninth Australian team for the world championships in Budapest, he was brimming with confidence. He cruised through the qualifying round without a miss, finishing up at 5.75m. Then that evening watched training partner, Nina Kennedy, win gold in the pole vault. Three days late was his final and after a single miss at the opening height of 5.50m, he produced a clean sheet through to 5.85m. At 5.90m he missed attempt one, while his competition was over at the first attempt. A quick count now had him a clear fourth, so he opted to pass his remaining attempts.
“I missed the first attempt at 5.90. It was a ballsy move to go 5.95 after a miss. I just knew I could clear it because I cleared it earlier this season.”
Jumping out of his skin, he was over 5.95 at the first time of asking. But that would be his limit, missing his attempts at 6.00m and sharing the bronze medal with USA’s Christopher Nilsen.

In 2024 he was fifth at the World Indoors, then sustained an ankle injury at the Nationals in April.

@ 1 June 2024 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au