Canada in Tokyo – Anicka Newell – Athletics

Tokyo 2020 is a shot at redemption for Anicka Newell.

The 27-year-old pole vaulter finished 29th at the Rio Olympics five years ago, and she is determined for a better showing  in Japan.

“Obviously it is considered the pinnacle of athletic performance,” Newell said before the Games. “The first time around didn’t go quite as planned.

“My target is 100 per cent to bring home a medal. I feel the best I have ever felt. I’m ready to go and kill it.”

The lack of competition has naturally hurt Newell during the COVID-19 pandemic, both competitively and financially, but it also gave the vaulter a chance to get into top shape.

“It did give me the opportunity to rehab a pretty serious Achilles injury, so (the time off was) a bit of a blessing in disguise for me,” Newell said of the pandemic.

Newell was born in Denton, Texas, resides in New Braunfels in the same state and trains in Ontario, but she calls Saskatoon her hometown.

“My mom was born there, my grandparents were born and raised there in Dundurn and Hanley, so I pretty much grew up going between the States and Saskatoon all throughout grade school,” she said.

COVID-19 has meant Newell hasn’t been home in a long time, something that has taken its toll on her and her mother.

And although the Saskatoon product is concerned that it will not feel like a “true Olympics,” she is ready to go and compete, along with teammate Alysha Newman.

“(We have) known each other a while,” Newell said. “It helps so much to have a teammate and a comrade. It can be a little intimidating so to have someone help you through it is so important.”

The athletic prowess in Newell’s family was always apparent. Her father was a distance runner and soccer player and she calls him her role model.

That’s in spite of the fact Newell and her brother would be woken up by their dad early mornings to do a workout, even before opening presents on Christmas day.

“Even in grade school we would run to school and he would carry my backpack. I thought I was the coolest kid,” Newell said.

There is no such thing as down time for Newell either, as she chooses to wakeboard, run or coach the sport in her spare time.

“I am definitely always on the go but I really enjoy that,” she said. “I’m pretty bouncy and bubbly. It fits with my personality to just be constantly moving.”

Newell actually thought she would be an Olympic gymnast growing up, but it was a back injury coupled with a coaching decision that gave her the start in the sport in Grade 11, despite hating certain drills.

“My coach said, ‘You are a gymnast, I need a pole vaulter, you are going to try out,’ ” Newell said. “I wasn’t thrilled to be doing it at first but I guess it ended up being my calling.

“The first time I went and tried to do a slide box (drill) I had busted my butt. I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me.

“Now I teach kids how to do it. So far I haven’t had anybody fall from it and I’m thinking, ‘Man, I wish I had me as a coach,’ ” she joked.

Newell is a self-confessed adrenaline junkie, and goes by ‘Flygirl93’ on Instagram, where she has more than 43,000 followers.

She says that pole vault is like gymnastics for that feeling of flight and floating, a sensation she chases all the time.

“I have done skydiving before,” she said. “Needless to say I was pretty frightened by it.”

Is a pilot licence next? No.

“I would not trust me behind the steering wheel of an airplane!” Newell laughed.

The women’s pole vault qualifiers get underway on Saturday, with the final falling on Newell’s birthday, Aug. 5.

Listen to the full interview – https://iono.fm/e/1080257