Olympic pole vaulter Alysha Newman lifts the lid on the concussion injury that derailed her Tokyo Games, her inspiring comeback and the ‘pivot moment’ in her career that helped her clinch bronze in Paris
Alysha Newman recounts how she was left panicking after she thought she had misplaced her Olympic bronze medal.
The 30-year-old pole vault superstar made history in Paris this summer, becoming the first female athlete from Canada to bring home a medal in the discipline, breaking her own personal best while also setting a new Canadian record, clearing a height of 4.85m in the final.
Thankfully, her medal hadn’t gone far.
‘When I came home from Paris, my family went and got me a safe so I could put my Olympic medal in,’ she tells Mail Sport.
‘I called my mum and dad balling: “I lost my medal” and my sister’s like: “You probably put it in the closet, why isn’t it in the safe that we got you?”
‘Little did I know I hid it in a shoe box for some reason until my safe was connected to the ground,’ she added laughing.
Alysha Newman has lifted the lid on how she nearly misplaced her Olympic bronze medal after placing it in a shoe box at home
Newman’s story is an inspiring one, with the Canadian defiantly going on to clinch an Olympic medal after failing to make a jump at the Tokyo Games
Newman had suffered a concussion injury in the run up to Tokyo, revealing that she had suffered symptoms following that injury during the Games
While the incident had left her stressed at the time, it prompted a moment of reflection from Newman over the magnitude of her achievements this summer.
‘It just showed that’s the impact [of the medal], that my life is over because I lost this Olympic medal.
‘But it’s those monumental things that you don’t realise how much of an impact it was until like you misplace your medal,’ she added, smiling as she reflected on her whirlwind summer.
The achievement itself speaks realms of Newman’s journey, considering the adversities she has faced over the past five years relating to concussion and mental health.
‘Oh my god, it’s like… My soul was on fire,’ Newman said, when asked to describe what winning the medal felt like.
‘I would have to say it wasn’t a feeling I’ve ever felt before.
‘I’ve never felt so accomplished in my whole life.’
But the medal doesn’t define Newman.
The 30-year-old began pole vaulting when she was 15 years old. She had previously competed as a gymnast but was forced to cut her gymnastics career short after suffering a fractured vertebrae
It’s been a whirlwind few months for Newman following the Games, who has taken time out to go on holiday with her family
The Canadian was 15 when she began jumping. Prior to that, she had competed as a gymnast.
A ‘bitter-sweet’ injury cut her gymnastics career short after she fractured her spine. Following a year’s hiatus from sport, she’d later pick up a vaulting pole and would begin her journey to the Olympics.
Part of her incredible story relates to the heartache she suffered at the Tokyo Games.
In April 2021, Newman suffered a serious concussion injury after coming home from a training session in Iowa.
She had fallen while stepping into her shower and hit her head on the faucet of the bath.
Newman subsequently returned to Canada and was prescribed anti-depressants recounting that she had been suffering from symptoms that included serious mood swings, headaches and neck pains.
‘I felt like I was OK,’ she said. ‘ lot of it was I felt like I was on a hamster wheel non-stop with my thoughts. One day I felt I was upset, the next day I was happy. My mood swings were not me and I realised I was a lot more negative.
‘If I burnt my toast in the morning I’d be like: “Why me!” There were these emotions I didn’t understand for minor things that were happening.
The Tokyo Games followed soon after. The 30-year-old would fail on three occasions to jump over 4.25m – a height that she would typically clear as part of a warm-up activity.
But it was clear that she was not right delivering an emotional interview after competing where she broke down in tears reflecting on the ‘heartbreaking moment’.
‘I went to Tokyo, ran through three times at the Olympic Games and I remember getting off the mat and being like: “I want nothing to do with the sport. I want nothing to do with the Olympic Games. This stuff doesn’t even matter”,’ Newman said.
That was the moment that prompted her to seek medical advice from her neurologist.
‘I flew down to California and got my brain scanned.
‘Then we started. The first thing was to get off anti-depressants, we’re going to go all-natural. We want vitamins to be heightened, I was B12 deficient, I was iron deficient. So we heightened those to help.
Alysha Newman broke down in tears during an interview at the Tokyo Games
It came after she had failed to make three jumps, claiming she remembers feeling like she ‘wanted nothing to do with the sport’ during that experience
‘Then we went into hyperbaric chambers. We were not only trying to help the brain with nutrients but we were also helping it with Oxygen.’
Newman also revealed she was undergoing EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy on top of that. EMDR is an innovative treatment that helps the brain move on from traumatic memories by requiring patients to recall those experiences.
‘We were trying to reprogramme the pathways of my neurones in my mind,’ she said.
‘To me this was so new and I think not a lot of us know enough about the human brain. And so now I’m learning about the brain that I had no idea was this complex.
‘Once that happened, I was like: “Well, I’m starting to feel better but how do I feel more great?”
‘And I gave up alcohol. The way my mind shifted [after]. I’ve never felt more invincible since I’ve given up alcohol.
‘Then all of a sudden I’m like: “I’m so happy I’m going into the Olympics and I’m going to give my ultimate best. If I leave without a medal, my life is incredible and if I leave with a medal, my life is incredible.”
Newman would subsequently go on to undergo several treatments following the concussion and gradually began to feel much better following her brain injury
She credits the work she has done to improve her brain health to being a pivotal moment in her career: ‘I took care of my brain and then the rest followed’
‘I had no sense of valuing this medal to my identity. I left the Olympics with or without a medal, so proud of who I’ve become in the last three years, and not letting the medal define who I am.’
For the Canadian, that period was perhaps one of the most important moments of her career.
‘I think athletes underestimate how powerful they can truly be with a healthy brain. Not mental health but a healthy brain.
‘I feel like I could talk about brain health forever but I feel like it was the pivot moment of my career because I took care of my brain and then the rest followed.’
Having been through that experience, Newman, coming into her third Olympic Games, had a different outlook on how she would deal with adversities and issues that presented themselves to her in the run up to the event.
This time around, she defiantly welcomed the challenges that stood in her way.
‘So the Tokyo Olympics was kind of like, everyone around me was like: “Alysha always comes through”. And I’m sitting there crying every day, saying: “I don’t want to go there. I don’t want to embarrass myself. I want nothing to do with it.”
‘Come June 2024, I tore everything in my ankle leading into Paris. I wasn’t in the shape I should have been. ‘I was like: “Give me another injury. I want more!”
Defiantly, she welcomed the challenges that stood in her way before the 2024 Olympics, in stark contrast to her state of mind in Tokyo
She sustained a severe ankle injury in the run up to Paris, was sprayed by a skunk days before flying to France and had her basement flooded a week before too, but none of it got her down
‘I was so ready for all the injuries or X-factors that could have come in my way, I said: “Give it to me because I’m ready to conquer it”
‘I think a week before I left for the Olympics, my basement flooded. Two days before I left, I got sprayed by a skunk!
‘I was like: “I want more! Give it to me”.
‘Whereas in Tokyo I said: “Why me? I want nothing to do with it. Let me just lay in bed. I don’t want to talk to anyone or see anyone. I don’t want to be an embarrassment”.
She added: ‘It took two years for that mindset to change for sure.’
She would go on to be crowned an Olympic bronze medallist, clearing the 4.85m bar on her second attempt in the Women’s final before going viral for twerking next to the crash mat.
But there is still plenty more to come from the Canadian pole vaulter, who is targeting a place at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
‘I’m really excited to push forward for LA. I feel like LA is going to put on an amazing and incredible Olympics. It’s also close to home so it’d be a great Olympics to retire at for me.’
Newman went viral for twerking after her sensational jump in Paris and admitted how she thrived off the energy of the crowd
Newman has another exciting project in the pipeline, and is hoping to build a dedicated track and field training facility in Canada
Newman (pictured alongside her coach Zdenek Krykorka) sees this project as her long-term legacy
Before then, Newman has another exciting project on the horizon that will be transformative for emerging Canadian track and field athletes.
She currently trains at York University in Toronto, but the facility is growing tired and is in desperate need of an upgrade.
She admits to Mail Sport that there is no dedicated private athletics track in Canada and is now embarking on a journey to build a new facility in Bolton, Ontario, that will provide a permanent ‘base’ for athletes that can help foster elite-level training conditions and results.
Approximately $750,000 has been raised so far to help fund the project which will have on-site housing for visiting athletes, salaried positions for five full-time track and field coaches and a high-performance training centre.
Newman sees this project as her long-term legacy.
‘I want to make that change. I want there to be full-time coaches at this facility. Right now my coaches are volunteers and I only see them twice a week. I train Monday and Wednesday with them and I train alone Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
She adds: ‘So I’m really excited to give that back to Canada, I know I’m the person to do so.’
It will be the first of its kind in Canada, with Newman hoping that the project can inspire more people to get involved in athletics and produce more Canadian Olympic medallists.
