Featured
Meet Anicka Newell, the Highland alum ready and eager for her third Olympics
Published
Modified
Anicka Newell bears on her left hip a tattoo of the Olympic rings, with the Canadian maple leaf above them.
Though it might be considered overkill, she鈥檚 clearly entitled to a couple more of those. When she thunders down the pole vault runway at Paris鈥� Stade de France on Aug. 5 鈥� coincidentally, her 31st birthday 鈥� she鈥檒l be competing in her third Olympic Games.
Newell will represent Canada in Paris, as she did in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in the COVID-delayed games of 2021. Canada is her mother鈥檚 birth country, according her dual citizenship.
But Newell also is a 2011 graduate of Albuquerque鈥檚 Highland High School, where she competed with distinction for the Hornets. Is she to be the first New Mexico high school product to compete in three Olympics?
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 know the answer to that,鈥� she said with a laugh during a recent phone interview.
Answer: No. Distance runner George Young (Silver City) actually performed in four Olympics (1960, 1964, 鈥�68, 鈥�72), winning a 3,000-meter steeplechase bronze medal in Mexico City in 1968.
Even so, three Olympics surely are more than worth a tattoo or two. Or three.
鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 an honor and a blessing to get to go to one Olympics, and here I am on my third,鈥� Newell said. 鈥淚t just seems completely crazy to even say out loud.鈥�
What makes it crazier still is this: She left the halls of HHS 13 years ago not really wanting to be a pole vaulter.
Though Newell was a three-time New Mexico Class 5A champion in that event starting in 2009, she also won the rarely contested girls decathlon at the Great Southwest meet in 2010 and 2011. In choosing Texas State University in San Marcos as her college destination, the pole vault was an afterthought.
鈥淚 got recruited by multiple schools as a multi and a pentathlete,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 enjoyed pole vault, but I much preferred all the other events.
鈥淭he Texas State coaches at the time said I could do both, pole vault and the multis.鈥�
Then, the Texas State coaching staff got a makeover. So did Newell.
鈥淭hey said, 鈥楴o, we just want you for pole vault.鈥� I was really upset my first year.鈥�
Is she still upset? No.
鈥淭hat turned out to be absolutely the right decision,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd set me on the right path, for sure.鈥�
Newell鈥檚 athletic path already had taken one sharp turn. She鈥檇 been a gymnast until, at age 14, a back injury ended her dreams of following the likes of Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes, et al, to the Olympics. It was only then that she took up track and field.
Newell, nine years later, still shares the top spot on the Texas State women鈥檚 pole vault performance list with a vault of 13 feet, 1陆 inches. But the best thing that happened to her as a Bobcat was meeting Brookelyn Dixon, her primary coach for the entirety of her college career and beyond.
Under Dixon鈥檚 tutelage, Newell blossomed into a world-class vaulter. In 2021 at an indoor meet in Belton, Texas, she set a career best with a vault of 4.70 meters (15-5).
Her outdoor best is 4.65 (15-3), which she nearly equaled on Feb. 2 in winning her event at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic at the Albuquerque Convention Center. She鈥檚 come home to compete in Albuquerque several times.
In Olympic competition, Newell has yet to achieve her goals.
At Rio, she finished 15th with a vault of 4.15 (13-7录).
鈥淩io was completely unreal for me,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat was my first international competition as a pro, ever, and I was completely inexperienced.
鈥淚 was completely overwhelmed, way in over my head. 鈥� Absolutely, the nerves got the best of me.鈥�
In Tokyo, competing in an empty stadium because of COVID restrictions, Newell qualified for the finals with a vault of 4.55 (14-11) but didn鈥檛 clear a height in the finals.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like I need a crowd to compete,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ecause I train by myself and I鈥檓 completely capable of competing without people watching me.鈥�
But 鈥� at the Olympics?
鈥淲hen you walk into such a ginormous arena and see the seats completely empty,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd the only sound is from the announcements and the music, I don鈥檛 know how to describe that feeling.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 feel like the Olympics.鈥�
Her excitement for Paris, in sharp contrast, knows no bounds.
鈥淢y goodness, I could not have picked a better place,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited that it鈥檚 Paris. The frickin鈥� Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower are already iconic. I鈥檓 so excited to see that.
鈥淚 know in Europe, they鈥檙e huge track fans. They鈥檙e talking about the stadiums being sold out, the arenas being sold out. So I鈥檓 frickin鈥� thrilled. I鈥檓 so excited.鈥�
Regarding the competition, Newell has two goals.
Goal No. 1: 鈥淯ltimately, a medal. My gosh, it鈥檚 been my goal my whole life, to go to the Olympics and win a medal.
鈥淓ven before track and field, I thought I was gonna go to the Olympics for gymnastics. So that鈥檚 my number one goal, to be on the podium.鈥�
Goal No. 2: Savor every moment.
鈥淚鈥檝e struggled with some mental and physical aspects this year,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd I just want to go and enjoy the experience and know that I鈥檓 doing it for me and feel like I gave my all and left everything on the track so I can walk away, no matter what, with my head held high.鈥�
Beyond Paris, Newell already is putting to use her degree in exercise sports science at her home in San Marcos, coaching and working as a personal trainer.
Is there any chance we鈥檒l see her in Los Angeles in 2028, matching Young鈥檚 Olympic grand slam of 13 Olympiads ago?
鈥淣o, no, no, no,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is the third and the last for me.鈥�
That being the case, hers will be an Olympic legacy few New Mexicans can match.
