Canada's Alysha Newman sets new national indoor pole vault record

Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman broke her own national indoor record on Saturday, clearing 4.71 metres en route to a tie for first place in the women's event at an IAAF indoor meet in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Newman, whose previous personal best was a 4.70 from last year's IAAF indoor world championships​ in Birmingham, England, tied with Russian athlete Anzhelika Sidorova atop the podium at Saturday's meet.

The 24-year-old from London, Ont., was an Olympian in 2016 and broke the Commonwealth Games record by clearing 4.75 last year in Australia; that record doubles as the Canadian women's outdoor record.

However, her 2018 season was cut short in May due to a six-millimetre tear in the middle of the patellar tendon. Newman opted not to have surgery, opting for months of rest and extensive physiotherapy before resuming full training in October.

"I'm really excited," Newman told CBC Sports' Doug Harrison ahead of the 2019 season, which features the outdoor world championships in September — a key event with the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo looming on the horizon.