"I felt like I had to be showing my stomach to fit in" - Katie Moon on her "under-eating" phase early on in her career

Katie Moon, the American pole vaulter, recently spoke candidly about her experiences, including her struggles with body image.

Moon secured a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo after registering a height of 4.90m to leave behind Anzhelika Sidorova and Holly Bradshaw. She is also a two-time world champion.

During an interview with Team USA as part of their "Woman to Woman" series, Moon admitted feeling pressured about certain standards in appearance, which led her to under-eat.

"I definitely went through a phase when I first got onto the circuit where the women wearing sports bras and I finally started undereating because I wanted to feel good in the uniform. At the time, I felt like I had to be showing my stomach to fit in."

Katie Moon also expressed regret for not prioritizing her performance over her appearance, while hoping she now inspires others to embrace feeling good rather than looking good.

"And I just wish I had known back then, it was about performance. And just about how I felt and not how I looked and that my body is just a byproduct of all the work that I put in. But it's hard to do in society that there's so much pressure on that. But I hope I can just show you just be in whatever feels good and look good, feel good."

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"Reminding me that sport is what I do, it's not who I am" - Katie Moon on her family keeping her centered

Katie Moon holds up her medal on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Pole Vault during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Apart from Olympic glory, Katie Moon also holds the world champion titles that she achieved in 2022 and 2023.

In 2022, Moon recorded a jump of 4.85m to defeat fellow American Sandi Morris and Australia's Nina Kennedy. During last year's World Championships, she registered a jump of 4.90m to defend the title and share the first position with Kennedy.

Despite her impressive success, the 32-year-old appears to be remarkably centered and grounded. During the same interview, she expressed her love for her family and credited them for her humility.

"Things that keep me centered are really my family. We're very close and just having that love and support, but they also keep me very humble and remind me that I'm still me and I do embarrassing things all the time and just kind of reminding me that sport is what I do, it's not who I am. And even if I had never gotten to the Olympics, they are still gonna love me for who I am."