Newman’s injury layoff proved invaluable
Foray into world of fashion offered a needed reset
Pole vault is perhaps less what Alysha Newman does than what she needs. She knows that much after having been forced away from her chosen sport for a great chunk of last year by a knee injury she suffered in late May at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon. She tore a patellar tendon, decided against surgery, and took six months to recover.
The 24-year-old from London, Ont., filled her days with rehab, but also with fashion and design pursuits, modelling, event planning and networking for the next act after pole vault.
Some people wondered about her focus. She said it was sharpened by the layoff.
“I have always been very passionate about track, but also about things off the track,” Newman said Monday from Madrid, where she is preparing for a World Indoor Tour event. “I think a lot of people were like, ‘Oh, she’s going to end up being an Instagram model or just focusing on her appeal, rather than what she is actually capable of.’
“For me, I needed to step away for my mental health and to get better. I was so caught up in watching the girls (compete) every weekend, it took a lot out of me because I wasn’t there. That was hard on me.
“I needed to fill (the time) with something else, something I was actually going to do with my life either during or after track, and that was the fashion world. So I’ve started making connections.”
She started taking stock too, and it didn’t take long to realize there was a void in her life that only pushing the bar higher can reasonably fill.
“Because I stepped away from it for so long, I wasn’t the same person without track. When I realized it, that I needed it, everything fell into place. I was able to heal and realize I don’t want to live without track and field in my life, and that pole vaulting is something that I am most passionate about.
“Now, every time I go down the runway I don’t take it for granted, because any time or any day could be the last time I go down the runway.”
So, though the injury was a serious bother, the realization it brought was invaluable, particularly since she had been struggling to maintain her love for the sport even before the tendon tore and her season ended.
“Last year I didn’t enjoy going to practice and I never wanted to be there. It kind of felt like a job, more so than something I love to do. So, yes, it was great that I took that time to heal and be healthy because I’m going to do really well this year, I can feel it. I’m here, I’m focused, I don’t want to take it for granted. I’ve done like a 180 here.”
She is quickly making up for lost time. Newman raised her own Canadian indoor record to 4.71 metres on Saturday while finishing tied for first at a World Indoor Tour meet in Karlsruhe, Germany.
She is right there with the acknowledged stars of her event, people like Anzhelika Sidorova and Katerina Stefanidi. She’s aiming for the podium at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in the fall. She’s talking about raising her Canadian outdoor record from 4.75 metres to at least 4.80.
And it’s all reasonable talk. Athletics Canada’s head coach Glenroy Gilbert expects bigger and bigger things from Newman as this year progresses.
“She can easily be among the top in the world. She’s really that talented and that clutch. When things come together for her she’s really remarkable to watch,” said Gilbert.
“She excels under pressure and that’s a remarkable talent to have especially at the world class level. I just think we’ve really just scratched the surface with her. I think if she is healthy and happy, we’re going to see big bars from her.”
Part of her happiness is derived from her off-track pursuits, and Gilbert understands that dynamic better now than he did in the past.
“I have always thought that would be a distraction, just because our idea of what you need to do as a high performance athlete is this one thing, so you’ve got to be focused, you’ve got to stay in tune. But that doesn’t work for everybody. In her case, she needs a little distraction. When she does have that, she’s at her best.”