Alysha Newman of London, Ontario, became the first Canadian woman ever to win an Olympic medal in the pole vault, jumping a Canadian record of 4.85 meters on Thursday to win a bronze medal.
Nina Kennedy from Australia won the gold medal with a jump of 4.9 meters. Katie Moon from the United States won the silver medal with a jump of 4.85 meters.
You may be wondering why Moon and Newman won the silver and bronze medals, respectively, even though they both cleared the bar at 4.85 meters. Well, the answer is simple. Moon had only one failed attempt before clearing the bar, at 4.85 meters. Newman had two failed attempts, the first at 4.6 meters and the second at 4.85 meters. In both cases, Neman cleared her second attempt fairly easily.
Newman reached the podium with a throw of 0.05 meters. Swiss Angelica Moser took fourth place with a throw of 4.8 meters.
One could argue that Newman peaked at just the right time this season. At the Diamond League in London before the Olympics, Newman won the silver medal with a jump of 4.75 meters.
This was Canada’s first medal in the pole vault since 1912 and third medal overall. Olympic Games 1908 in LondonEdward Archibald from Toronto, Ontario won bronze in the men’s pole vault. Then at the Olympic Games 1912 in Stockholm, William Halpenny of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, again won bronze in the men’s pole vault.
The Canadian team has won 19 medals so far (six gold, four silver and nine bronze), which is the tenth most medals overall.
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