'I became bulletproof': How a change of approach led Alysha Newman to historic Olympic pole vault bronze

A month before winning an Olympic bronze medal in Paris last summer, Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman strained her deltoid, the muscle forming the rounded contour of the shoulder. Then, the basement in her house flooded and she was sprayed by a skunk in her backyard trying to protect her dog.

Newman had only returned to competition about four weeks earlier following a 12-week absence after tearing four ligaments in her right ankle while cooling down after a training session hours before the start of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Scotland.

"I had a lot of moments where it could have redirected my focus [from the Olympics]," said Newman, who sought sports psychology and concentrated on how her mind connected to her body.

She worked closely with a doctor who trained the native of Delaware, Ont. (near London) to fend off negativity.

"It was like I had armour on and anything negative bounced off me," the 30-year-old said Thursday in a wide-ranging interview with Anastasia Bucsis of CBC Sports. "I became bulletproof."

WATCH | Alysha Newman joins CBC Sports to open up about Olympics, life lessons:

Newman changed her approach to "make the most of her opportunity" at a third Summer Games.

She placed 17th in her 2016 Olympic debut in Rio and exited the women's qualification round five years later in Tokyo after missing three attempts at 4.25 metres.

But Newman had a history of competing well in Paris. Her favourite colour growing up was purple and the track at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, was purple.

"I was grasping all the positive things and was able to shake any negativity," she recalled.

Last Aug. 7, Newman won Canada's first-ever Olympic medal in women's pole vault, earning bronze with a jump of 4.85m. It was also the first Olympic medal by a Canadian in the sport since William Halpenny's bronze in the men's competition at the 1912 Stockholm Games.

"I walked in the stadium and it was like I was meant to be there," Newman told Bucsis, "and I left the stadium like I was meant to get that bronze.

"It was a 30-year goal … and I made it happen. I don't think I'm done."

Newman said she wasn't emotional in Paris after her medal performance. However, she's had more than her share of moments since, mostly while driving a car, when she'll catch one or two tears drop while listening to music or a podcast.