The four words that pushed Nina Kennedy over the bar and into Olympic pole vault glory
Before Nina Kennedy cleared 4.9m to secure gold in the women's pole vault, she stood at the top of the runway for nearly a minute.
She was the third athlete to have a crack at 4.90m. The two before her had both failed, but Kennedy was determined to be the first one over and elevate herself to the top of the pile.
At the top of the runway, she adjusted her grip, took a couple of deep breaths, and then she was off.
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"Just send it, girl," she muttered as the bar grew nearer.
But once she got over, her gold wasn't confirmed for another half an hour as she and her rivals attempted to clear 4.95m.
Nina Kennedy celebrating her gold after clearing 4.9m in the women's pole vault final. Getty
As the bar from Katie Moon's final attempt fell to the mat, it triggered a huge outburst of emotion from the 27-year-old from Busselton, south of Perth.
She jumped up and down, let out a massive scream, and then the tears flowed. She'd picked up a quad strain in Tokyo three years ago and missed the final.
"My bloody mascara's not waterproof," she said through tears on the Nine desk later in the morning. It was the first time she'd watched a replay.
"Watching that, you could see how focused I was. You could see what I was working on.
"When Katie missed (her final attempt at 4.95m), you could see the relief come all over my face. It's cool to watch that."
Hers was the fourth and final medal Australian athletes won on a historic night in Paris.
Standing at the top of the runway, Kennedy said she was reminding herself of exactly what she needed to do on the way to the bar to ensure she gave herself the best chance.
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"Pole vault is such a technical sport that you need to execute your cues perfectly," she explained.
"It's also a weird one because you want to pump yourself up and you want to say: 'just clear the effing bar'.
"I was probably saying something along the lines of: 'run tall, jump strong'."
Kennedy's gold is yet another story of redemption, but on a much more personal level. After dominating the junior ranks, Kennedy struggled at times to be competitive in senior competition.
Kennedy cleared 4.9m to win gold. AP
She battled depression, anxiety, and injury - including the strain that hampered her Tokyo performance.
"I've definitely had some really high highs and some really low lows," she said.
"Bit of depression, bit of anxiety, little bit of everything. Heaps of physical injuries.
"I've definitely learnt my lessons and I've kind of put all the pieces of the puzzle together tonight.
"I've done a lot of work with my sports psych. If anybody watched the full competition, you could just see me turn my focus up when jumping, then as soon as I'm done I celebrate.
"Then I kind of go back down, reset, do some deep breaths, switch off because I'm not jumping again for another 10 or 15 minutes.
"It is really about switching on, switching off. You do that for four hours and by the end you're brain dead, you're having these interviews, and I'm a bit tired."
But with a new piece of jewellery around her neck, it's worth it.
"The Olympic Games happen every four years. You have to put that perfect jump, in such a technical event, into that hour, that minute, that second," she said.
"And when you're falling down (after clearing the bar), it's like, 'Yeah, I just did that'."
