New record set in pole vault

February 16, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
Athlete Alysha Newman, who trains at Bolton Pole Vault, now holds the women’s record for an indoor vault in Canada.
The 22-year-old Etobicoke resident set the record at an event Jan. 21. She cleared the bar set at 4.65 metres, beating her previous personal best vault of 4.5, and topping the previous record of 4.6 metres.
The native of London said she’s been doing the pole vault since she was in Grade 9.
“I love it,” she said, adding she never really thought there could be a career in the sport until her senior year of university.
She attended the University of Miami in Florida, but she came home every summer to train with Doug Wood and Zdenek Krykorka at the Bolton club.
Coach Wood praised Newman for having a “very, very strong understanding of the event.”
Newman represented Canada at last year’s olympic Games in Rio. She went into the event ranked 24th, and came out in 17th place.
“Obviously, never satisfied,” she remarked.
Her long-term ambition is to compete in four more Olympics, noting there are five rings in the Olympic symbol. “I want to do one for each ring,” she said.
Newman divides her training time between Bolton and an Athletics Canada facility at York University.
“It’s my full-time job,” she added.
Newman will soon be travelling to New Zealand for a couple of meets, and is looking foward to the Worlds, which will be held in August in England.
“I would love to medal, and I think the potential’s there,” she said.