- West Australia capped a record day for Australia
- He won the country’s 18th gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
- He made a hilarious comment in an interview right after the win.
Australian golden girl Nina Kennedy launched into wild celebrations with her team and family after winning pole vault gold in Paris on Thursday morning – and then lashed out at a Channel Nine star with a hilarious comment that is sure to have left him furious.
The 27-year-old capped Australia’s best day at an Olympic Games by securing the country’s 18th gold medal and spoke to Nine presenter Tony Jones on the track shortly afterwards.
After telling her she felt “really calm” during her tense battle for the top spot on the podium with American Katie Moon, she concluded the interview with a broad smile and a “Thanks, Chompers” sign-off.
Jones is nicknamed ‘Chompers’ because of his striking teeth, which look perfect after having some work done more than 10 years ago.
The Melbourne-based Sunday Footy Show host is known in AFL circles for hating the nickname, and one incident proves he’s no fan.
Football commentator James Brayshaw said the nickname first appeared in the AFL Teddy Whitten Legends game in 2009, when football great and fellow commentator Garry Lyon commented on how white Jones’ teeth suddenly were.
In 2016, the late footballing great Danny Frawley revealed that Jones lost his temper when AFL stars kept using the nickname on TV, and North Melbourne legend Drew Petrie took it to a new level by calling him ‘Chompity Chomp Chomp Chomp’ during a live crossover with Jones.
“After Drew Petrie did it on Wednesday, Tony Jones threw the toys overboard, walked up to the producer and said, ‘See you later, Chomp,'” Frawley said.
Nina Kennedy was all smiles as she threw a hilarious two-word joke at a Channel Nine star after capping Australia’s best day at the Olympics.
The gold medallist was being interviewed by Nine’s Tony Jones (pictured) when she signed off by saying: “Thanks, Chompers” – a nickname the Footy Show host hates.
Kennedy’s incredible victory was Australia’s 18th gold medal at the Paris Games, the nation’s best ever result.
‘I’m imploring every player who goes on the Thursday Night Footy Show and does a live cross with Chompers, to give him a big one, because he doesn’t like it now.’
A year after the West Australian shared the top spot on the podium with her American friend and rival Katie Moon at the world championships in Budapest, Kennedy had a gold medal all to herself.
But it was really about fulfilling his own sporting destiny in a demanding discipline he took up at age 11 in 2008, after watching Steve Hooker win Australia’s first (and until Wednesday night, only) Olympic gold medal in the pole vault.
“Everything I feel like I was going through, even the last second with the stands (which were malfunctioning), I was kind of like, I hate to say this, but I didn’t come this far just to get here,” he said.
‘So just throw anything at me and I’ll take care of it.
‘And what I was thinking was, ‘I’ve gotten this far, dealing with the setbacks, dealing with the pressure, dealing with everything.’
The 27-year-old’s triumph capped Australia’s best day of competition at any Olympics in history.
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“So just bring it.”
After initially failing at 4.70m, Kennedy, 27, was flawless on his next three heights, clearing 4.80m, 4.85m and 4.90m on his first attempt.
She missed her first attempt at 4.95m, but it didn’t matter, 4.90m was enough to secure gold.
She later learned that it was Australia’s 18th gold medal won at a single Olympics, surpassing the previous mark of 17.
So Kennedy also made history for his nation.
