A REGULAR PHOTO CLICKED WHILE PRACTICING ENDS UP CHANGING A TEEN POLE-VAULTER’S CAREER FOREVER

 

There won’t be any person who doesn’t want to be famous overnight and if at all the fame comes unexpectedly, he or she would definitely consider grabbing the first opportunity that they would get to achieve. But then, everything comes at a price even the desirable fame too. Most of the time the price is even higher than the fame itself and might potentially affect your personal image. What would you do? Enjoy it or else take some action against it?

Meet Allison

Allison Stokke was born in Newport Beach, California to her parents Allan and Cindy Stokke. She was a sports enthusiast right from her childhood. And no doubt that was quite inevitable in her case considering her elder brother David was too, a national youth level gymnast. From her childhood, her brother was her idol and she was determined to follow his footsteps.

Athletics In Genes

From an early age, she too started taking part in gymnastics under her brother’s guidance. Her brother used to take her to the practice after her school hours. She was always a fast learner and whatever she did she always excelled in it. And the same happened when she started taking lessons, despite being outstanding she always felt that her heart wasn’t in the same place with her mind. She needed to find her true passion.

Exploring

Soon she started to explore the other sports so as to find her true passion. She was opening herself to different sports. But she had apprehensions about finding her passion because she was too young to understand her calling, still, she chose to listen to her heart. Fortunately, she found her calling in pole vaulting.

Pole Vaulting

After discovering her true passion she didn’t look behind and gave her best. And as expected she stood first in the pole vault as well. Now she felt overjoyed with every achievement and had a million hopes for her future. She had already become an idol for her classmates and her fame didn’t restrict to the four walls of her school but she was gaining popularity in and around the city too.

Breaking The Record

It was the initial years of her career in sports and she was already setting benchmarks for people regardless of the age. In 2004, she started competing in track and field and broke the American record for any high school freshmen recording a vault of 3.86 meters which is equivalent to 12 feet, 7 ¾ inches. She was no doubt at the peak of her career in her initial years.

A Promising Athletics

In a short span of time, she was seen as a promising athlete and everyone was just in awe of her accomplishments and proud of her. She was just 15 years old when she broke a record, while at that time she was the youngest American to do so. Would she be able to enjoy her victory for the rest of her life as well?

A Pole Vault Star

In her sophomore year, she started to attend Newport Harbor High School and soon became the pole vaulting star. At the end of her 9th grade, this pole vault star won the CIF California State Championship. This was her first victory in her high school career and many breathtaking events were yet to come.

Heights Of Glory

She was reaching the peak with an incredible speed leaving people flabbergasted including her peers. After the massive victory in the sophomore year, she went ahead to create another record in her senior year with a height of  13 ft 53/4 equivalent to 4.11 m in 2007. She continued breaking the record in the following year when she was again recorded as the best vault by a 16-year-old American.

Popularity

With each record and championship, her popularity was increasing exponentially. But Allison did not let it get heavy on herself or on her performance. Though she had won and participated in numerous now, she used to be excited about every championship and never took it for granted. Her popularity was skyrocketing with every other championship.

Photos On The Wall

There wasn’t even one event when where she wasn’t photographed. She was vivacious and energetic and every photographer wanted to catch that spirit in their cameras. Even she didn’t shy away from being clicked starting from the initial days of her career and was now used to the fame and glory she was getting. But not every photograph turns out to be a good one, does it?

U-Turn

Life has a very absurd way of changing its course and introducing the unnecessary ups and downs in a person’s life. It just doesn’t spare anyone from its outbreak regardless of a person’s age or popularity. It was the end of 2005, Allison Stokke was already one of the highest pole vaulters in history and continued making more records when an incident happened which brought a U-Turn in her smooth life. What might have happened that had the potential to change her life?

An Unforeseen Event

While she was practicing in a session, another team member from the defending state was testing a pole she had never used before. Allison, on the other hand, wasn’t aware of the same and took off from the same pole and unfortunately wasn’t able to get high enough vault to land her on the landing field. That’s where her life took a steep U-turn.

An Injury

It was Golden West College, in the evening when she landed unsteadily on the ground hurting her right ankle badly. Soon, she was rushed to the hospital where her fear materialized into reality as the doctor announced that she had broken tibia in her right ankle. This came as the most shocking news of her life. Would the aftermath of the injury affect her career?

Consequences

The injury wasn’t a small one it required surgery and time to heal as well. Allison was very disappointed by the injury and feared the time it would be taking it to heal. Her treatment started on a priority basis but it was supposed to take time and when the doctor told her about the time, it was the most devastating news of her life.

Revelations

The doctor told them that it wouldn’t be able to play this season due to the unforeseen injury, so she had to wait to recover fully before she could get back on the field. The Rehabilitation process itself would take 4-6 months before she would be prepared to land on the field again. Everyone was left aghast after knowing this but they tried their level best not to show it in front of her and gave her the best possible mental support.

The Rough Time

Even after she had been in such an adverse situatiuon she showed the true sportsmanship by not crying on her situation and rather facing it with a strong heart. She didn’t just stand strong for herself but for her parents too who unwantedly became weak watching her in this situation. It was a rough time but then this is the time when one needs to show his/her patience and she did it.

Come Back

It was her potential and courage that she didn’t come back but had her revenge in the most classic way. It was the senior year of her school and she was prepared with much more energy than before. As soon as she came back she won a championship at the CIF California State Meet. This time she recorded her vault at 4.14 meters, equivalent to 13 feet, 6 ¾ inches. She not just participated but ranked 2nd in position too.

The Achiever

She came 2nd in her high school and also ranked 8th at the national junior championships. Her comeback wasn’t just epic but inspirational to all those who had lost hope of her coming back in the field and was a jaw-breaking answer to the one who thought it to be her last match. So was that the only hurdle in her life or more was yet to arrive?

Upside down

If the injury wasn’t enough to shatter the spirits of Allision there was another event that was cooking up and would come up as her next surprise. Allison was already on the verge of completing her school and was expectantly looking forward to a new beginning as soon she was going to enter college. When everything seemed so perfect and nice then what might have happened that everything turned upside down?

The Photograph

Back in 2007, when she was just a teenager, a photograph was clicked by a journalist when she was competing in New York, which he wouldn’t have thought could create such havoc in the near future. It was a normal photo of the athlete in the midst of the competition. But it turned out to be beyond a natural click of Allison.

Life-Changing Event

It was a normal click as he might have thought while uploading the picture on the internet. For him, it was his mundane job and was expecting this article to land up well, without having a clue of what he was doing to the career of a budding athlete. Why did a normal picture become the talk of the town out of the blue?

Controversy

The journalist might have written about the athlete and published it with the photo he had taken. Soon it circulated on various websites unknowingly. But this was just a photo of an athlete and a lot of people write about them and their accomplishments. Then what might have happened that the photo suddenly came in limelight everyone’s eye?

Popularity

People in today’s era are so active on social media platforms that even if they drink water on their vacation they would not leave a chance to put it on their social media handles. Generally to gain a little more appreciation and popularity among their colleagues and peers. And this was the year 2007 and Allison was not somebody who would want unnecessary eyes on her.

Havoc

Allison was habitual of people taking her photo and the fame she was getting but the kind of attention she would now get was neither expected nor desired by the athlete. One day the photo went in hands of Matt Ufford who was a sports blogger and had a blog named With Leather. There were several bloggers who used to write about sports then what might have happened that it created so much havoc?

The Controversial Title

Matt Ufford blogs were known for objectifying women in sports and for the blogger, Allison was the new target. He used to write about athletes on his blogs but more in a demeaning way then uplifting their spirit. He not only shared the photo but the titled it ‘Pole Vaulting is Sexy, Barely Legal.’ Allison was just 17 when he shared this photo and dragged an innocent teenager’s name on the dark side of the internet.

Viral Photo

The photo took the internet by storm and drew every eye on the upcoming pole vaulter. What followed afterward was the series of events she wouldn’t have imagined to happen. The blog not only commented on her physical attractiveness but was disturbing to a great extent. And not only the blogger took a troll but the responses from the audience were too charged with sexual comments and that too, for a girl that could be the pride of the country in pole vaulting representing the country internationally.

Photographer’s Exasperation

Soon the photo and the blog went viral as wildfire and the news came in front of the photographer that had actually taken the photo. He was furious and upset about the salacious usage of the photo. He immediately went forward and raised his voice about the same and threatened to take action against the blogger if needed.

Stubbornness

Even after getting numerous warnings and threats to sue the blogger for malicious usage of his photo, he didn’t remove the blog or the photo from his websites. Despite every attempt of the photographer to protect her from the dirt, more and more people started commenting on the post in an offensive way with each passing day. Would the photographer protect her from dirt without even letting her know?

Damage

No matter how much he tried but the damage was couldn’t be undone now. The photo had been shared all over the internet people all over the world didn’t shy away and posted several derogatory comments. Allison, on the other hand, was least aware of such a scandal that had happened. Unwillingly she had become the center of attraction among the wrong fanbase.

In Wrong Hands

The matter even got worse when other indecent websites started sharing her other photos too on their futile websites and the malevolent comments started to flow insanely. Men were fawning over the athlete and she had absolutely no idea what she was being targeted for. Would she be able to cope with the situation or else would just let it go?   

Crossing The Oceans

In no time the photo crossed the borders of the digital platform and the news became the headline of varies prominent newspapers like The Washington Post and The New York Times. The news gradually made its way to Germany, the U.K and even to Australia and they even featured her story in their famous talk shows.

Disturbing Revelations

When Allison came to know about the scandalous picture it was way too late. The revelation was very disturbing for as she was always wanted to be known by the name of famous pole vaulter, not a sex-symbol. But she was strong from inside and when a life-threatening situation couldn’t shatter her spirit then how could she have this news overpower her achievements and ruin her image? Now the big question was how she would mend the damage?

Searching Ways

She thought of the ways how she could shift the attention and mold the news to get away from the dirt. She then came up with the thought of giving an interview so that it could cover the unnecessary hype that the pictures had created about her physique. She was sure that this will divert people from perceiving her as a sex-symbol. Was she thinking right?

The Interview

So on the scheduled day, she gave an interview which included tips for the young budding girls who were aspiring to be in sports and especially as a pole vaulter in the near future. The video was uploaded successfully on the youtube. And to her surprise, around 100,000 people watched that video but what she didn’t expect was the same kind of comments she received which did the more damage than before. What would be her next step?

Aftermath

Soon her mail was flooded with emails and requests for the photoshoots. It was all getting out of control day by day and she was feeling hopeless despair and was drowning in the narrow cave of depression. Her parents were getting restless because of the same. After the incident, the athlete confined herself in the four walls of the house and refused to get out of it.

Intervention

It wasn’t long before the parents intervened in her situation and pledged to take her out from the controversy and restore her dignity. Her father, Allan Stokke was a lawyer by profession fortunately and was very well able to understand what pain she was going through. So without wasting any more time he stepped into the matter and started to find ways to clean up all the dirt.

Investigation

Allen started to go over with a fine-tooth comb at every comment that was posted on the internet and especially on the youtube video. He tried to scrutinize in a way to know if anyone was stalking Allison. Luckily, he was able to wash the possibility of it to spread further but the damage that was already done couldn’t be undone even by her father. They thought that with the passage of time people would forget and again concentrate on her talent than her body. Was it so?

A New Phase Of Life

Gradually, Allison too came out of the horror and started to come on the field again. She had so much anger inside her that she had put that all on the field in her performance. Soon she entered into an excitingly new phase of her life and won an athletic scholarship to study Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. Leaving the dark part of her life she was now determined to move to a new future. Would she be able to do it?

New Records

She had put her heart and soul in her sports to forget the tragic incident and it was no surprise when she won in the first year of her college while taking everyone by surprise and breaking her own school record with a vault of 13 ft 91/2 in (4.21 m) in the following year. But the stain of the dirt didn’t leave her way.

Annoying

No matter how well she performed, the men always flattered by her body than her talent. Now it was unbearable and couldn’t be unfazed by the consequences. After the competitions, men would turn up to be clicked beside her. She would still receive email but now she tried to remain indifferent from it. Would that be too easy for her?

Avoiding Controversies

While observing the sensitivity of the matter, the college put down Allison’s photo from their official website to avoid more controversies. It seemed as if all her hard work had gone in vain because of that insignificant photo. Now no one was paying any attention towards her achievement because they were busy concentrating on an irrelevant topic.

No Acknowledgment

When the wave comes from the sea towards the sand house it generally washes away no matter how much hard work might have put into the intricate details while building it. Same was happening with Allison, all her achievements were being overlooked by her college.“I think at some point Cal just decided: ‘Don’t put anything up to about her,’” she said in an interview. “So even if I jumped high or won a meet, they wouldn’t put up a picture or article, and that’s actually the kind of recognition I would have liked to see.”Would this be able to break the strong confidence she had in herself?

The Much Awaited Event

When everything seems to be doomed, that is the moment you need to have the ultimate courage and Allison did prove it right with her patience. And her patience was awarded in the shape of the Olympics. It was the year 2012 when she landed herself the opportunity of a lifetime. Everyone was expecting her to give an outstanding performance as usual but this time in the U.S trail for London Olympics she failed to clear the opening height of 13 ft 11 1/4 in (4.25 m). Would this setback and bullying tear her apart?

Unforeseen Event

After the failure, her family expected her to be quite low but keeping aside their apprehensions this young athlete set on to entirely new ventures and surprised everyone. The photo had left a lasting impact on her mind but she wasn’t ready to surrender herself and let it overpower her will. Rather she made a new way out of it. That’s what sportsmanship is, isn’t?

New Ventures

Previously she had rejected offers to a big magazine like Maxim and others avoiding any spotlight or pictures. But this time she wanted to take it in her advantage and went ahead to accept their offers and thought of clearing her image from the scandal once and for all. Soon she became a sportswear model appearing in various campaigns such as Athleta, Nike, and Uniqlo.

Tying-Up

She even made a video series for GoPro and this time attaching a camera to the pole to represent a new side of pole vault. After that she didn’t look behind, the fame she used to move aside now she was facing the camera with an extra-large smile. She changed drastically as her college came to an end. And the best part was she was now a master in Sociology as well as a leading sports model. Wondering what happened to her passion for pole vault?

Another Setback

Though she failed terribly in the opening of the trail in the U.S, this didn’t affect her passion for pole vault at all. All this time she practiced pole vault religiously and never left it for a single day. In 2016, she got another opportunity in the Olympics but unfortunately, she again failed. But then now she had an altogether new venture on which she was moving in her life.

Broken

“I feel like me and that picture are two different people,” said Allison regarding the viral photo that distraught her peace for years. “I feel it has taken on a life of its own. It’s like that picture is my alter-ego and sometimes I feel like I use it for a positive force, and sometimes I just choose to leave it out there and not engage with it.”

The Advent Of Spring

Just like with the advent of spring everything seems to be just perfect with every corner blossoming in colorful flowers so is with love. As the rumors had it, Allison and  Rickie Fowler had something going on. They were presumed to be friends but soon they were spotted publicly almost every other event of each. Sometimes Allison would be cheering for her and the other times Rickie.No matter how much they tried to hide, people were sure something was cooking up. Was it really love in the air or just the rumors?

Just Married

In 2018, they put everyone’s assumption to rest by getting hitched. Allison took a break from her pole vaulting for the following year. But in the year 2019, she posted a video on Instagram breaking everyone’s assumption about leaving the sports and signifying through the video that she was very much in the game. She too tried her hands in golf giving her husband a little competition and still going strong. All that happened in her teenage had just made her even stronger and she stood as an idol that whatever may come, giving up was not her cup of tea and would never be.