This Innocent Pole Vaulter Became Viral For All The Wrong Reasons
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- April 10, 2024
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The internet has a power many can’t comprehend. One day, an innocent young woman was trying to better herself, and the next day strangers were attempting to stalk her. That scenario might not be the case for everyone, but many women online have similar stories. Someone whose life became the audience for thousands through online mediums is Allison Stokke. The pole vaulter who just wanted to become better at the sport was thrust into the limelight because of how quickly things are able to become viral on the internet. That’s what happened to Allison Stokke and this is her story.
A Talented And Successful Student Athlete
Go to any given track and field event and you’re bound to see hundreds of athletes competing. In 2007, Stokke was one of these athletes you would just see passing by at a track meet.
Working part-time modeling in high school, Stokke also put in a lot of work to make a name for herself pole vaulting, breaking countless records along the way. Soon, things changed drastically once a photographer captured the perfect photo of her. It was like she became a national sensation overnight.
Who Exactly Is She?
On March 22, 1989, the future star pole vaulter Allison Stokke was born. She grew up with her parents and older brother out in California, and she was surrounded by sports since her youth. Her brother David was great at gymnastics and competed at the national level.
Stokke was also pushed into the world of gymnastics due to the success of her brother. She tried it, but soon learned it wasn’t the sport for her. Thus, making her go out and find a sport she would enjoy.
Finding Her Calling
Sometimes, finding the thing you’re passionate about only takes one try. After searching for a sport she would enjoy, Stokke instantly fell in love with pole vaulting the moment she picked up the pole and started running with it.
What makes it even better is that Stokke believed she would be great at pole vaulting. Perfecting her craft immediately, Stokke soon became one of the youngest and most successful around the country. At 15-years-old, Stokke won the U.S. title by clearing 12.5 feet!
The Freshman With The Records
During Stokke’s freshman year, she pushed herself extremely hard to better her skills and herself. It all ended up paying off when she began breaking her own records. It started when she improved her 12.5 jump and jumped 12 feet and eight inches.
After her freshman year, Stokke raised the bar again (literally.) She cleared 13 feet and five inches which is a whole foot higher than her U.S. title winning jump she accomplished at only 15.
The Accomplished Senior
When Stokke’s senior year arrived, you can imagine she had a ton of activities to juggle. Along with her studies, she also had a strenuous training schedule to stay on top of. It never slowed her down as she knew it was all worthwhile. She was slowly but surely becoming a nationally recognized pole vaulter.
Stokke was running through her leagues like clockwork winning medal after medal. Her senior year was also the year she topped her record again! She jumped over a whopping 13 feet and six inches.
The Infamous Picture
Life seemed to be going so well for the young star. Then in 2007, things went in the wrong direction after someone took a picture of her during a pole vaulting event. Stokke was only 17 at the time. The photo consisted of her waiting on the runway for her turn.
Not too long after, the photo was posted online and a blog called “With Leather” reposted it. Their clientele is all men, and their content is usually young women. That was a recipe for disaster.
Allison The Internet Sensation
The blog that reposted the photograph already had a shady reputation and made things worse with the demeaning caption they used. They didn’t highlight Stokke’s actual talent, but you can imagine how they framed it. As a result, the picture had a negative impact on Stokke’s life.
After becoming a viral across multiple platforms and seeing the impact it was having on Stokke, the original photographer tried to take action. He spoke with the original website and threatened to sue if they didn’t remove the photo. Unfortunately, it was too late, as the internet had already claimed the picture…
Crushing On Allison
As the first photo was making its rounds on the internet, Stokke fan clubs and websites started to surface (from one picture?) The strange part is that these sites and clubs began to uncover other images of Stokke to post on their websites, giving the people more to enjoy.
Comments on these pictures would be from men talking about how Stokke was their internet crush. Slowly but surely, these websites grew even larger, and Stokke was stuck in the middle of this media onslaught.
Gaining International Traction
The power of the internet is real. Pretty soon, Stokke’s name was being mentioned overseas. She had officially gained an international fanbase, whether she wanted it or not. The blogs and websites continued to post Stokke, but on a larger scale now.
The Washington Post and the New York Times eventually posted her. Germany and the UK started broadcasting about Stokke, her photo, and all of her internet fame. Australia even featured her on one of their popular talk shows.
Attempting To Take Control
Stokke became disturbed by all of this attention stemming from the wrong place. After spending so many years perfecting her craft just to become noticed for something other than that can be quite infuriating. Afterall, this all happened without her permission.
Soon, she had to put on her game face and take matters into her own hands. She soon found out that the internet was too powerful to overcome. Stokke had to hire a manager in charge of taking care of all her calls and emails.
Organizing An Interview
Sometimes, trying to douse the fire only spreads it even more. When Stokke went into action trying to prevent her name from being circulated for the wrong reasons, she didn’t expect it would backfire.
Stokke set up an interview with a large media outlet to help shift the focus on her. In the interview, she discussed pole vaulting matter solely and gave tips to budding women in the field. Sadly, commenters on the YouTube video continued to bring up her beauty and physique.
Receiving Help From Her Father
Realistically, Stokke couldn’t handle this whole mess by herself. Luckily, Stokke’s father was a practicing lawyer who made it his sole mission to keep strangers and danger away from his daughter. The last thing Stokke wanted was unwanted attention.
Her dad went on YouTube for hours marking potentially threatening people who left comments on videos involving his daughter. He was checking to see if anything said was illegal. Removing the immediate danger didn’t help with the lasting issues, however.
CBS Network’s Attempt To Help
In light of all that Stokke had to deal with, she still attempted to find the positives in a crowd of negatives. The photos of her were still going viral, so CBS tried to use her situation as somewhat of a warning to other young women.
Their broadcast highlighted how easy it was to make vulnerable young women public figures with the snap of a picture. No consent is needed, so CBS highlighted the dangers of this caused by social media and the internet at large.
Hard Work Down The Drain?
Athletes might be able to relate to this more. Actually, anyone that has put countless hours into anything will understand as well. The fact that this viral photo cast a massive shadow over Stokke’s true talent made her quite upset.
After all those years of beating her own records and building a buzz, Stokke’s life of pole vaulting was almost nonexistent to the public eye. One search on Google for her and you would get one million results on her by 2010. The vast majority of these results were not about her sport.
The College Life
After all that unnecessary attention Stokke obtained, she was ecstatic to get out of the limelight for a while during her time in college. With those phenomenal pole vaulting skills, she earned a full scholarship to UC Berkeley. This allowed her to stay close to family and friends in California.
During this time, the star athlete kept a profile so low, you would have thought she fell off the map. She rarely posted on her social media accounts, and this allowed her to stay out of sight, out of mind for a few years.
Still Up To Her Old Tricks
With attempts to stay away from the media and press, Stokke channeled her attention back on the pole vaulting runway and school work. With her determination, she excelled in both fields as she was able to in high school as well.
By the time she was done competing in college at Cal, she had earned a masters degree in sociology, and set new records in track. Every competition she was in, Stokke would religiously place in the top ten.
Olympic Hopeful?
As Stokke sharpened her skills over the years, 2012 was fast approaching. Any athlete who takes their sport seriously will tell you that the Olympics is on their mind. Stokke trained harder than she ever had leading up to the 2012 Olympics in London.
When the time came to qualify for the Olympics, there Stokke was, ready to perform. Sadly, she slimly missed the mark and her chance to represent America. The part that had to hurt is that she’s cleared 14 feet before, but she couldn’t get it when it mattered most.
Stokke Takes On Modeling… She’s A Natural!
2015 was the year Stokke decided to put her pole vault aside and throw herself into her modeling career. Remember, she did this part-time in high school, so it wasn’t too unfamiliar for her. She finally chose to respond to the numerous brands asking her to model their clothes.
That same year, she ended up on Nike’s spring and summer collections and worked for the sports brand, Athleta. Is it really a surprise that she quickly took the modeling world by storm?
Inhale The Love
It seems like Stokke knows how to cause a fuss on the internet without even trying. At the end of 2016, she was making headlines again as it looked like she and Rickie Fowler were more than just friends. They were seen together at the Motocross Grand Pix, cozied up.
The speculations grew even more significant after the pair posted pictures of them together on their social media sites. That deed pretty much seals the deal in today’s society.
A Picture Perfect Relationship
If you’re unaware of who Rickie Fowler is, no worries. He’s a professional golfer who just isn’t as popular as some of the others. One thing that he and his girlfriend Stokke have in common is that they both gained some level of attention through a viral photo.
It took months for the speculation to die down, but soon enough one of Rickie’s teammates spilled the beans on the “secret” relationship. After the couple’s business became public, their love did as well.
Fowler and Stokke Are Engaged
On June 8, 2018, Rickie Fowler and Allison Stokke announced that they were engaged. After dating for around a year, Stokke posted an image on Instagram of Fowler bent on one knee on the beach, and her falling to her knees to say yes.
Elated, she captioned the image,”Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And happy national best friend day to my best best best friend! I love you!!!” Even without knowing either of them personally, it’s easy to see the love between the two professional athletes.
Of Course She Can Golf
Being the incredibly talented athlete that she is, Allison Stokke wasn’t shy to pick up a golf club and join her future hubby on the links. While not all wives of golf pros enjoy their significant others’ passion, Stokke dove right in.
Here she is in Jersey City, New Jersey, looking like a complete natural with a swing full of prowess. Random members of the press won’t dare hassle her now, as her athlete stardom is on lock down.
She’ll Caddy For Her Man
While in Augusta, Georgia for Fowler’s Masters Golf Tournament in April 2018, Stokke showed her support. Not only did she travel with him and show up to watch, Stokke donned the caddy uniform with a big smile.
There’s no doubt that others are inspired by the young couple joking around and having so much fun while achieving their dreams. It’s obvious that their fame has not gone to their heads, and they are still down to earth.
They Moved To Florida, And They’re Doing Just Fine
Allison Stokke was born and raised in Newport Beach, California, and attended college in Berkeley, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Fowler also grew up in Southern California, in Murrieta, located just inland of the coastal area Stokke grew up.
Instead of opting to settle down in their native Southern California, however, like many golfers, Fowler made the move to Florida, and Stokke went with him. Still living by the beach with amazing warm weather to enjoy the outdoors, the couple seems to be acclimating well to their new home.
