Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman raised eyebrows when she twerked to celebrate at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Newman, 30, went viral on Wednesday, August 7, when she cleared 4.85 meters in the women’s final. The achievement earned her a bronze medal, making her the first Canadian woman to take home a medal in the event, per The Telegraph.
Immediately after her milestone performance, Newman was all smiles as she placed her hands on her knees and wiggled her butt for the crowd and cameras. The move, however, drew mixed reviews from fans, some of whom wondered whether it was a celebration or an attempt to promote her OnlyFans.
“Olympic athletes used to be considered heroes and a source of national pride. This is just gross,” one user wrote via X, while another added, “I saw that and thought it was inappropriate.”
Other viewers, however, have come to Newman’s defense. “These comments are miserable, let someone who’s worked hard for 4 years have fun. Y’all sitting on the couch getting closer to type 2 diabetes every day,” a user wrote.
After medaling, Newman opened up to the German outlet BILD about her decision to start her OnlyFans account.
“I earn money with what I post — you have to log in to find out. It makes me confident and I feel good about it,” she told the outlet, translated to English, noting that she will not upload photos of herself completely nude. Instead, she posts “a lot of my training sessions, talks about nutrition and lots of tips and tricks.”
Newman charges about $13 per month for access to her adult-only content, per the outlet. During the Olympic Games, however, her page costs about $7 per month.
“Of course, many people have a certain cliché when they think of OnlyFans,” Newman said. “I can’t change many people’s minds.”
She continued, “But this website has connected me with many fans, more than any other pole vaulter before. What others think about it doesn’t bother me. I am who I am and I do it well.”
OnlyFans aside, Newman told TSN that it had been a dream come true to medal for Canada at the Olympics.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “I laugh because getting third is — I mean, I’ve never got third, but it’s funny because you have to still wait and sit there and wait until the other girls are done. So I’m so awkwardly standing there like, ‘What do I do? Do I celebrate? Do I kiss everyone? Do I cry?’”
She continued, “It was a really surreal moment and it was awesome. I just feel like I’m very emotionally stable right now and just feel so honored to be the first pole vaulter to bring home an Olympic medal for Canada.”
