Pole Vault Alysha Newman | An attractive pole vaulter

Which member of the Canadian team at the Tokyo Olympics has the most following on Instagram?

Simon Drouin
The Press

Hint: it’s not Penny Oleksiak (142,000 subscribers). Nor Andre De Grasse (373,000). Neither Félix Auger-Aliassime (460,000) or Leylah Annie Fernandez (333,000).

It is rather Alysha Newman, a specialist in pole vaulting who experienced a disappointment in the Japanese capital. The London athlete missed all three tries at 4.25m before bursting into tears in front of the CBC camera.

Two years earlier, the Canadian record holder (4.82m) had finished fifth at the World Championships in one of the toughest finals in women’s pole vault history.

After the year marred by the pandemic, Newman suffered a concussion a few months before the Olympic Games postponed to 2021. Throughout the outdoor season, she only crossed one bar, at 4.31 m.

“I can really say that I came back from hell this year,” she wrote before the start of her second Olympics on her Instagram account, followed today by 607,000 people.

Disturbing pictures

During the telecast of his ordeal, CBC analyst Michael Smith wondered if Newman was focusing on the right things in an Olympic year. Obviously, the ex-decathlete was referring to his activities off the lawn.

The previous year, along with three other world-class athletes, Newman had participated in a social media advertising campaign. The Commonwealth Games gold medalist appeared there in lingerie on a competition field, a pole in her hand.

“As a woman and an athlete, I have broken down barriers all my life and this campaign […] allowed me to show another side of the beauty of being a woman! “, she wrote on Instagram.

Her Olympic teammate Sage Watson reacted on the same platform two days later, saying she was “heartbroken” by this campaign which “zoomed in on women’s buttocks and breasts while they exercised”. The 400m hurdles specialist added that she had been “sexually harassed for months” after a camera focused on her buttocks after her 400m hurdles semi-final in Rio.

In an article published a year later in the Toronto StarNewman explained that she did not feel “comfortable in [son] body” early in his career. “There’s so much more aura and light around me because I’m learning to love my body,” the Marylin Monroe fan told the Toronto daily.

After his failure in Tokyo, Newman took six months before he could return to training. “At some point, I forgot the names of animals,” she confided during her visit to the Montreal Athletics Classic last Sunday. “I had to relearn those names and now wear tinted contact lenses. I have everything that helps me get back to normal. I’m starting to feel like myself again. »

On the recommendation of his doctor, Newman resumed training in the heptathlon. She believes that this new discipline will bring her back to her best level in the pole vault, “ [son] bread and [son] butter “.

On May 21, with a shortened seven-step approach, Newman cleared 4.61 m, a first substantial bar in 13 months for the one at 16^e rank on the all-time charts.

The Montreal competition did not go as she wished. After a first bar at 4.35 m, she threw in the towel at her three attempts at 4.50 m. His goal was to clear 4.70m, the standard for the Eugene World Championships. She regretted the long delay before the start of her event, officials who wanted to “remove [ses] marks” on the ground and the modest public too quiet for his taste.

“I felt like people were just laid back,” she said as she waited for her Uber car to rush off to the airport. “I wanted a little more energy for today and I didn’t get it. »

Building a brand

Newman answered a few questions about his outstanding social media appeal.

“I know some athletes don’t want to do it, others can. For me, it’s important to build a brand because I want more for my life after athletics. »

The 27-year-old does not consider herself “that much of an influencer”. “It’s not like I’m on this every day and posting: you should buy this or eat that or do that. I see myself more as a motivator. I want people to feel like they can do anything they want. »

Recently, she still published an advertisement where she promotes a sports betting site.

Newman says he pays no attention to criticism. Her off-track activities aren’t detrimental to her sport, she insists, but rather complement it.

“Anyway, it makes me a more accomplished person. […] I have fashion and modeling which allow me to express my personality and my sexuality. »

The pole vaulter sees herself more as a “business woman”. “I bought my name, I own my name. It’s a business and I’m claiming taxes in my name! It’s a very entrepreneurial thing. I hope it will get bigger one day. »

Alysha Newman also has an OnlyFans page, a paid content social network. The cost of the monthly subscription for that of the Ontarian is $19.99. She said she mainly sells workout and nutrition plans there. “It allows me to communicate directly with my supporters. »

Her page also seems to offer overtly “sexy” content. The subject is delicate for the main interested party. “Destabilized” to be interviewed on OnlyFans, Newman wanted to end the interview and withdrew all of her remarks. “I no longer manage my page, a company takes care of it,” she said without giving further details.

Alysha Newman explained that she was portrayed negatively in the media. She only trusts a reporter from Toronto. She suggested contacting her agents and pointed out that she had not been informed that she would be interviewed during her stay in Montreal.

“I have more subscribers by far than they have,” she concluded, speaking of the journalists she considers negative. “I do my own advertising here,” she added, showing her phone. The story does not say if she checked her Instagram page en route to the airport.

On Wednesday night, Newman cleared 4.70m at a meet in Guelph, setting the standard for Eugene that sees him move into third in the world this year. “I’m ready to come back with the best in the world,” she announced on her Instagram page.