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‘I don’t know if I can do this’: McCartney reveals she considered quitting before Comm Games gold
Sport Nation • August 18th, 2026 10:00 am
Eliza McCartney | Photo: Photosport
Kiwi Eliza McCartney has revealed she questioned whether she could continue her pole vault career as recently as this year, making her Commonwealth Games gold medal in Glasgow all the more significant.
The 29-year-old returned to the top of the podium in Scotland, 10 years after winning Olympic silver in Rio as a teenager in 2016.
But McCartney says the journey between those two career highs has been anything but straightforward, with injuries, pain and poor performances leaving her questioning whether it was all worth it.
“There were times this year even prior to the season where I just thought, I don't know if I can do this,” McCartney told Sport Nation's Scotty & Izzy on Tuesday.
“Is it really worth putting myself through it?”
Eliza McCartney | Photo: Photosport
McCartney missed the previous Commonwealth Games and spent several years struggling through injury, at times attempting to compete despite being unable to properly prepare or perform.
She described some of those experiences as traumatic, saying she was sometimes in so much pain she could barely make it down the runway.
“I spent a lot of time on the sidelines,” she said.
“I performed really badly for a few years where I just wasn't really physically prepared and able to be pole-vaulting, but trying anyway.
“Those are pretty, not to be too dramatic, but quite traumatic experiences when you put yourself on the line like that in front of a big audience.”
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McCartney had worked with sports psychologists and mental skills coaches throughout her career, but said being encouraged to see a clinical psychologist proved a major turning point.
“That was actually the catalyst for me really being able to process things better so that I could actually return,” she said.
Despite the doubts, McCartney continued, supported by a team she says knows her exceptionally well.
Her coach Scott Simpson was particularly important in helping her navigate the uncertainty.
“He's very good at just saying, you know, I will tell you if we reach that point,” McCartney said.
“And I really trust that. I really trust his opinion, so that helps me a lot.”
Listen to the full interview below:
