Huge blow to Australia's world championship medal hopes as pole vault champion Nina Kennedy injured

Olympic champion Nina Kennedy is out of the world championships, revealing on social media that she had succumbed to a leg injury.

The pole vault superstar was one of Australia's top medal hopes on the team competing in Tokyo later this month but was forced to accept the "brutal" reality that she wouldn't be on the plane.

"Even though I'm disappointed, I'm proud of myself for trying to get back and put myself in the best position to jump high at worlds," Kennedy wrote in an Instagram post.

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"I can genuinely say I did everything I could, I gave it a red-hot crack and that in itself is a measure of success.

"Sport can be brutal, but injuries are just part of the journey, and that's okay."

Kennedy is on the comeback trail from surgery after going under the knife five months ago in a bid to fix a hamstring issue, having torn the muscle three times in a six-week period.

The 28-year-old Paris 2024 gold medallist was approaching the worlds with tempered expectations and had already conceded she was unlikely to win her way to the top of the podium in Japan, given her interrupted preparation.

However, her determination to arrive with the best possible chance of competing at a high level may have got the better of her, with Kennedy straining a muscle in the same leg that was operated on, albeit "not near the surgery site, which is a win".

The muscle strain occurred in one of Kennedy's final training sessions before flying out. The worlds get underway next Saturday, September 13.

In an interview published earlier this week on Wide World of Sports, Kennedy explained her mindset having conceded that she was only at 80 per cent.

"Last year [ahead of the Paris Olympics] it was all about: I will win the thing, and that's what we're doing.

"And we definitely have to be more gentle with myself [now]. I've been working with my psychologist [and we've been saying,] 'Let's move the goalposts. What are the controllables?' It is putting myself in the best possible position, and whatever outcome will be, will be."

Kennedy was shooting for a clearance of around 4.80 in Tokyo having won the gold medal in Paris with a 4.90, which was also her best jump in Budapest at the 2023 world championships when she split gold with her greatest rival, American Katie Moon.

A record 88-strong team was this week confirmed to represent Australia in Tokyo, marking the nation's biggest team ever assembled for a global championships.

Kennedy's withdrawal comes after her namesake, sprint star Lachlan Kennedy and race walker Jemima Montag were also forced to pull out with injuries.

Australia's team for Tokyo:

MEN

100m: Joshua Azzopardi (NSW), Rohan Browning (NSW)

200m: Gout Gout (QLD), Calab Law (QLD), Aidan Murphy (SA)

400m: Reece Holder (QLD), Cooper Sherman (VIC)

800m: Peter Bol (WA), Peyton Craig (QLD), Luke Boyes (NSW)

1500m: Cameron Myers (ACT), Jude Thomas (QLD), Adam Spencer (VIC)

5000m: Ky Robinson (QLD), Jack Rayner (VIC), Seth O'Donnell (VIC)

3000m Steeplechase: Ed Trippas (VIC)

High Jump: Yual Reath (VIC), Brandon Starc (NSW), Roman Anastasios (VIC)

Pole Vault: Kurtis Marschall (WA)

Long Jump: Liam Adcock (QLD), Christopher Mitrevski (VIC)

Triple Jump: Connor Murphy (NSW)

Discus Throw: Matthew Denny (QLD)

Javelin Throw: Cameron McEntyre (NSW)

Marathon: Andrew Buchanan (VIC), Tim Vincent (VIC), Liam Boudin (QLD)

20km Race Walk: Rhydian Cowley (VIC), Declan Tingay (VIC), Tim Fraser (ACT)

35km Race Walk: Cowley, Will Thompson (VIC), Mitchell Baker (ACT)

4x100m Relay: Azzopardi, Jacob Despard (TAS), Christopher Ius (NSW), Law, Browning, Connor Bond (NSW)

4x400m Relay: Holder, Sherman, Aidan Murphy, Thomas Reynolds (VIC), Terrell Thorne (QLD), Luke van Ratingen (NSW) , Augustine Nketia Junior (ACT)

WOMEN

100m: Bree Rizzo (QLD), Torrie Lewis (QLD), Ella Connolly (NSW)

200m: Lewis, Mia Gross (VIC), Kristie Edwards (NSW)

400m: Ellie Beer (QLD)

800m: Abbey Caldwell (VIC), Claudia Hollingsworth (VIC), Jessica Hull (NSW)

1500m: Sarah Billings (VIC), Linden Hall (VIC), Hull

5000m: Rose Davies (NSW), Hall, Georgia Griffith (VIC), Lauren Ryan (VIC)

10,000m: Ryan, Isobel Batt-Doyle (SA)

100m Hurdles: Liz Clay (QLD)

400m Hurdles: Sarah Carli (NSW), Alanah Yukich (WA)

3000m Steeplechase: Cara Feain-Ryan (QLD), Amy Cashin (VIC)

High Jump: Nicola Olyslagers (NSW), Eleanor Patterson (VIC), Emily Whelan (NSW)

Long Jump: Samantha Dale (NSW), Delta Amidzovski (NSW)

Triple Jump: Desleigh Owusu (NSW)

Discus Throw: Taryn Gollshewsky (QLD)

Hammer Throw: Stephanie Ratcliffe (VIC), Lara Roberts (QLD)

Javelin Throw: Mackenzie Little (NSW), Lianna Davidson (NSW)

Marathon: Vanessa Wilson (VIC), Sarah Klein (VIC), Tara Palm (SA)

20km Race Walk: Rebecca Henderson (VIC), Elizabeth McMillen (NSW), Alexandra Griffin (WA)

35km Race Walk: Olivia Sandery (SA), Henderson, Allanah Pitcher (NSW)

Heptathlon: Camryn Newton-Smith (QLD), Tori West (QLD)

4x100m Relay: Connolly, Edwards, Lewis, Rizzo, Georgia Harris (QLD), Leah O'Brien (WA)

4x400m Relay: Beer, Yukich, Gross, Carla Bull (QLD), Jemma Pollard (NSW), Carli, Amelia Rowe (WA)