“No matter what happens, I want to say thank you to everyone that is supporting me, and cheering for me.” Katie Moon dropped those lines just before appearing in her second Olympic Games. She is en route to defending her gold medal in a sport that displays a phenom like Mondo Duplantis. After the latter made a world record in Paris two days ago, it is now Katie’s responsibility to continue the streak in pole vault that has always been counted as an injury-prone sport. It has always been hard to defy gravity with the help of a spike and not face an injury. All that it needs is an extra ounce of motivation. 

Thankfully, for Katie, her source of motivation started with her family. Her father, Mark Nageotte, stood to be the rock behind her in her initial time. In describing the role he played, the Ohio native once reminisced, “He was the perfect girl dad because he was supportive in every sense. He found my club that I grew up going to for pole vault. He would take me to everything and sit there and listen to what the coaches were telling me and he would just regurgitate the information back. It was really fun because it was our thing without it feeling like it was his thing. It was like it became our thing together.” But now he is no more, and Katie is yet to lose his shadow from her side.

To keep his memory with her, she has penned “Dad” on the inside of her spike. At the Paris Olympics, she will continue her endeavor with this spike. And whenever she will be on that gigantic leap, she will tap the spike once to make it her ultimate ‘leap of faith’. This time it might be in front of many eyes, but internally, Katie Moon has been doing this for many years. 

When her father died, Katie was 16. Since then, her journey to jump over the pole and stand again has included only her mother, Diane Nageotte, as a witness. She has motivated her daughter all along. Now in Paris, Katie Moon realizes that she might need some extra help to cross the pole. 

Katie Moon is ready to break her routine at the Paris Olympics 

Katie Moon shares a distinct bond with Paris. She was in the City of Lights to study for her fashion degree, years before she could become an Olympian. Now, in her second Olympic appearance, she wants a special gift from her known city, she wants to return with the gold title. And to attain it, she is ready to change her habit. 

The two-time world champion is not known for early morning habits. But in Paris, she will have to attain her goal in the early hours. “Morning sessions are tricky for someone who’s not a morning person at all, so I was a little nervous. I haven’t jumped in the morning since high school, maybe college. But I felt great,” she shared on the topic. She will now take this ‘great’ feeling to the field, as her rival Nina Kennedy is in stupendous form. 

The Australian and current world leader equaled Katie Moon in last year’s World Athletics Championships. Both were announced winners, but now the American athlete might not want to share her position with Nina. So, a neck-to-neck fight is on the card now. Meanwhile, Katie Moon would want that divine help to make her cross the pole once again.