"VAN" (GC2018 Sports Desk) :: Every time Alysha Newman steps onto the pole vault runway, there’s a chance she’s going to break the Canadian record – again.
The 23-year-old pole vaulter has been raising the Canadian record ever since she first broke it two years ago. If she has her way, she will be breaking more on Friday 13 April.
At GC2018, she wants the gold medal, a new Canadian record and the Commonwealth Games record.
Then she’s coming for the world record.
“I just want to jump as high as possible,” she told.
“Every time I do better, I break the Canadian record so I just want to keep breaking it as high as I can so I can go down in history as one of the best female athletes in the women’s pole vault.”
Newman had a spectacular season last year, setting the current national record of 4.75m.
She is proud of her success, but her focus remains firmly on the feats she’s yet to achieve.
“4.75 is great, it’s high, but it still only puts me sixth, seventh in the world,” she told GC2018.com
“For me to be number one, I’ve got to be jumping [4].90, 95. I love breaking the Canadian record but I still have so much work to do.”
If she meets her 4.75m personal best, or breaks into the 80s like she hopes to, she will break the current Games record of 4.62m, set by Australian Kym Howe at the Melbourne 2006 Games.
To win the gold, she’ll have to beat a competitive field that includes Australian champion Nina Kennedy, who set her personal best of 4.71 earlier this year and Australian Liz Parnov, who is competing in her third Games.
Key to Newman’s success at the Games will be clearing the first attempt of every height. It will be her focus when she approaches the bar on Friday 13 April.
“I’ve missed out on medals so many times because there’s been count backs,” Newman told.
“I think always from now on, since I’ve lost that medal I’ve been like, OK, first attempt, that’s my number one attempt.
“Second, execute, and third, just be you, have fun and enjoy the moment.”
It’s one of the hard lessons she has learned over the last year, a year she describes as the ‘hardest mental year’ she’s had to date.
When she was competing in high school or university, she would set new PB every meet. Now that the bar is getting higher, she has had to bring a more professional, strategic approach to training and competition to keep improving.
“I think this past year has been my hardest mental year, just because I’m slowly getting higher heights now so I’m not PRing or PBing every single meet,” she said.
“I’m trying to be more technical, what will get me to jump big at Commonwealth, what will get me to jump big at worlds or Olympics. It’s kind of cool because it’s a different transition. Now it’s a little more professional, it’s great.”
Because she’s broken so many records already, it’s easy to forget that Newman’s career is still in its early stages.
She’s focused on her goals of continuing to be Canada’s best, even the world’s best, but the significance of the big occasions like a Commonwealth Games, or breaking a record, is not lost on her.
“I get to wear my maple leaf proudly across my chest every time I go international. It is an honour to be able to do this.”
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