At just 17, Allison Stokke became a viral star after an image of her pole vaulting was posted in an online blog. While fame can do wonders for an athlete’s career, this was anything but helpful. Let’s look at what happened.
While she attended Newport Harbor High School, Stokke won the American Pole Vault Championship title in 2004. She obtained the record of 3.81 meters (12.5ft). That same year, she became the California state champion.
Sadly, those great achievements faded into the background as her image went viral online. Almost everyone on the internet knew who Stokke was.
Blogger Matt Ufford was the first to spread her images online, which sparked controversial conversations left and right. He titled his post “Pole Vaulting is Sexy, Barely Legal.”
Her internet fame quickly became a burden. Her images would travel from blog post to blog post, fueling the rhetoric that sexualized her in the first place.
According to Tie Breaker, Stokke tried to steer people away from sexualizing her physique and appreciate her vaulting skills. The American decided to release her video on YouTube to emphasise this. Unfortunately, the move backfired as her “fans” only echoed the sexualizing comments.
During an interview for the Washington Post, the American athlete underlined her frustration with her lack of recognition and how people simply ignore the sport. Mainstream media like CNN went off to spin the story of why young people should stay away from the internet.
Stokke now combined the life of a professional athlete with that of a sportswear model, representing well-known brands such as Nike, Gap, GoPro and Uniqlo.
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