Ready to back herself fully at last, Nina Kennedy isn't feeling particularly charitable in Paris.

Australia's greatest ever female pole vaulter made international headlines last year when she and American star Katie Moon decided to share a gold medal after a gripping final at the Budapest World Championships.

It was the ultimate act of sportsmanship, a heart-warming moment of mutual recognition from two champion athletes who were as equally deserving of the glory as the other.

Kennedy has zero regrets about that decision to stand alongside Moon, and it will remain a highlight of her career even as she quite literally continues to soar to greater and greater heights.

But it won't be happening again.

"I am definitely going for that outright gold medal," Kennedy told ABC Sport.

"It's probably the question I have been asked the most since Budapest. There it felt right, I never second guessed it, it was the right thing to do.

"It has definitely ignited a fire within me though to win an outright gold medal."

The Drive For Gold

Kennedy says she thinks about the prospect of winning Olympic gold every day. She is driven, confident and looking to reach peak performance just in time for these Games.

She hasn't always had the freedom to carry herself with such assurity. Kennedy has been an outspoken advocate for prioritising mental health, and has been open in sharing her own struggles and potential remedies.

Those hard times, she says, played a part in her decision to split the gold in Budapest.

"I think [sharing the gold] really reflected maybe where I was at in that part of my career with my self-belief," Kennedy said.

"Maybe last year I didn't really or truly believe that I deserved that outright gold medal."

Kennedy certainly believes now. 

More than that, she has freed herself from the weight of wins and losses, a significant step forward for her mental preparation and something that has put her in the best possible headspace for take off in Paris.

Overcoming Mental Health Challenges

"I think the biggest mental health challenge I've faced, and I think a lot of athletes face it as well, is having their self-worth tied up with the outcome of a performance," Kennedy said.

"You kind of grow up your whole life winning competitions and you really start to tie winning to your self-worth. And it can get really blurry and really grey.

"I've just learned to separate the two. I could win and I'm still a great person, and I could lose and I'm still a great person.

"My family and friends are still going to love me and they love me for who I am, not what I do."

That represents a significant breakthrough for Kennedy, who has previously said she had been left unable to train or compete by spells of depression.

Injuries held her back in earlier years and impacted her build-up to Tokyo, where she missed the final after "things crumbled".

Kennedy says she is a completely different athlete and person now to the one that suffered that Olympic disappointment, and she is armed with a refreshing outlook and a clear mental strategy as she prepares for the main event.

Focused and Ready to Roll

"The goal is to win gold. If you ask me what my expectations are, they are a little bit different," she said.

"I like to break it down. The expectations are things that are 100 per cent in my control, what I'm going to do out there, what my team are going to do out there — the 'controllables'.

"And then the goals are, a lot of the time, uncontrollable.

"I could jump my very highest, I could jump five metres and I could come second, and that is completely out of my control. Someone jumped higher.

"I think it is important to to really know the difference between those two things."

Kennedy is calm, composed and circumspect on the eve of competition. But don't get that confused with carelessness — few members of this Australian athletics squad or as dedicated or locked in.

Pole vault is a death-defying discipline, maybe the most spectacular on the track and field roster. In chasing the gold, Kennedy's stated ambition is to soar higher and fly further than anyone else in the world.

It very much feels like this is her time.

"People talk about the state of flow and I feel like I have been in it since Budapest," Kennedy said.

"It is the only thing I have thought about. I've really made it clear to myself and my team that I don't want to walk away with any regrets.

"I don't want to leave any stone unturned and I want to go out there and I want to roll the dice.

"I'm really proud of where I where I've come from, and now I'm just excited to see what happens.

"The hard work's done and this is the fun part. I'm ready to rock and roll."