Canada’s Alysha Newman qualifies for Olympic women’s pole vault final at Paris 2024 | CBC Sports

Canadian record holder Alysha Newman, in her third Summer Games appearance, will compete in an Olympic pole vault final for the first time.

Newman cleared 4.55 metres on Monday at Stade de France in Paris to qualify for Wednesday’s final at 1 p.m. ET, which will consist of 20 women after only 11 of them met the 4.70 qualifying standard, with several finishing at 4.40.

Coming off a 45-minute sleep the previous night, the London, Ont., native missed her first attempt at 4.40 competing in Group A but made her next two jumps at 4.40 and 4.55 before the competition came to a halt. The automatic entry standard for the final was set at 4.70.

“I’m building something special,” the six-time Canadian champion told Devin Heroux of CBC Sports. “My coaches really believe in me. Without my coaches and my family and my friends, I don’t think I would be here. I’m bringing everything to the track on Wednesday and you better look out for me because I’m ready.”

The 30-year-old was 17th in her 2016 Olympic debut in Rio, while Newman’s second Olympics went off the rails quickly.

Three years ago in Tokyo, she couldn’t plant the pole on her first attempt and leaned over after her second try, grabbing her left shin. Newman exited the women’s qualification round on Aug. 2, 2021 after missing three attempts at 4.25 to mark her fourth no-height in five events. She didn’t return to competition until the following May.

WATCH | Newman into her 1st Olympic pole vault final after 4.55m clearance:

“I can truly say I’ve been to hell and back this year [with injuries] but giving up is just not in my blood,” she told CBC Sports at the time as she broke into tears. “I have to keep looking forward to the future [and] get ready for Paris [and the 2024 Olympics].”

Earlier this year, Newman was jumping as high as she ever had in her career indoors until suffering a Grade 2 right ankle sprain while cooling down after a training session two days before the start of competition at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Scotland. She withdrew minutes before the start of the women’s final.

Following a 12-week absence, Newman gradually regained her pre-injury form and cleared a season-best 4.76 on July 20 in Diamond League action at the London Athletics Meet in England to rank eighth in the world entering the Olympics.

WATCH | Newman jumps 4.76m in Paris Olympic tune-up:

Canada’s Alysha Newman vaults to 2nd place at Diamond League London

Alysha Newman of Delaware, Ont., cleared the bar on her first attempt at 4.75 metres, to finish in second place in the women’s pole vault, at the Diamond League meet in London.

World leader fails to clear opening height

All went to plan for American Katie Moon as she began her title defence on Monday, sailing over 4.55.

Moon shared world championships gold last year with Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who had a similarly easy path through qualification Monday, never knocking the bar down, three years after nagging injuries saw her crash out at the initial stage.

Greece’s Katerina Stefanidi (4.55), who won eight years ago in Rio, was also among the 20 competitors to progress. But it was a tough morning for Britain as its gold medal hope, Molly Caudery, was unable to clear her opening height of 4.55 after setting a national record and world lead of 4.92 in June.

“Totally heartbreaking, so sorry for everyone at home. I’ll try to learn from it. I felt great. I am in best shape of my life,” the indoor champion said while crying. “I don’t know what happened. I’ll talk to my coach.”

Texas-born and Saskatoon-raised Anicka Newell was the other Canadian in Monday’s qualification. Competing in Group B, she was knocked out of her third Olympic competition following three missed attempts at 4.55. Earlier, she needed a third try to advance past 4.40 after posting a 4.63 season best on Feb 22, San Marcos, Texas.

The 30-year-old qualified for Paris five weeks ago with second-place finish (4.38) at trials in Montreal, but her path to these Games wasn’t smooth as she had to recover from an Achilles injury earlier in the year.

In the 2021 Olympic final, which fell on Newell’s 28th birthday, she recorded a no-height after missing all three attempts at 4.50.

Madogo carries personal best into 200m semis

On the track, Ottawa’s Jacqueline Madogo charged into the women’s 200-metre semifinals of her Olympic debut with a 22.58-second PB in the first of four heats in the repechage round.

On Sunday, teammate Audrey Leduc of Gatineau, Que., secured a lane for Monday’s semifinals at 2:45 p.m.

Madogo, 24, won the Canadian title last year in Langley, B.C.

She grew up playing soccer and didn’t really think about track. Her lone experience in the sport in high school saw Madogo win a bronze medal in the 100 at the 2017 Ontario championships.

Madogo was recruited to the University of Guelph (Ont.) to play for the women’s soccer team a couple years later, but transitioned to the track in her second year. 

WATCH | Madogo qualifies for her 1st Olympic 200m semifinal:

Jacqueline Madogo advances to 200m semifinals with personal-best time

Canada’s Jacqueline Madogo wins her women’s 200-metre repechage heat with a personal-best time of 22.58 and advances to the semifinals at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Sprinters Sherar, Gale to 200m repechage

Two Canadian sprinters will need to rely on Tuesday’s repechage round (5:20 a.m.) in hopes of securing a spot in the women’s 400 semifinals on Wednesday.

Toronto’s Zoe Sherar was 36th overall (51.97) and seven spots ahead of Ottawa native Lauren Gale (53.13). The top three in each of the six heats automatically qualified for the semifinals.

Both women fell short of their respective PBs of 50.79 and 50.47.

In her first Olympic race, the 24-year-old Sherar admitted to feeling nervous running on the track at the 77,000-seat Stade de France.

“[Nerves] are to be expected in a stadium like this,” she told Heroux. “I feel I could have done a better job [on the turns] but looking forward to [Tuesday’s repechage round] for sure.

“I’m really confident in my physical capabilities. I think getting the nerves out today will be really helpful [and] tomorrow I’m ready to rock.”

Gale, also, 24, has had a breakout season on the track that has included a national record in the 300 (36.53 in Norway).

She travelled to Tokyo for the 2021 Olympics as a member of the 4×400 relay team pool, but never raced.

Later Monday, reigning 200 gold medallist Andre De Grasse turns the page to the opening round of the men’s event, starting at 1:55 p.m. ET, after failing to reach the 100 final.

De Grasse tries to qualify in 200m

Later Monday, reigning 200 gold medallist Andre De Grasse turns the page to the opening round of the men’s event, starting at 1:55 p.m. ET, after failing to reach the 100 final. Fellow Canadians Aaron Brown and Brendon Rodney are also competing.

Top three in each of the six heats advance to Wednesday semifinals, with all others relegated to repechage round on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m.

In the 2021 Olympic final, with three Americans bearing down on the five-foot-eight De Grasse on a stifling August evening in Tokyo, he found a different gear in the final seconds of the 200 and reached the finish in a Canadian record 19.62 ahead of American Kenny Bednarek.

At 1:04 p.m. Monday, Jean-Simon Desgagnés races Round 1 of the men’s 3,000 steeplechase. Top five in each of the three heats will be headed to Wednesday’s final at 3:43 p.m.

In July, the 26-year-old from Saint-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., achieved an 8:13.11 PB at the Meeting de Paris Diamond League event.