With 50,000 people watching her from the stands at Olympic Stadium and billions of potential viewers worldwide tuning in to the Rio Olympics women's high jump final on TVs and computer screens, Alyx Treasure was in a relaxed state of mind.
The 24-year-old from Prince George had already accomplished her goal in qualifying two days earlier when she leaped a personal-record 1.94 metres (six-feet, 4.4 inches) and the pressure was off.
"That was amazing, I think it was the best competition of my whole career," said Treasure, referring to qualifying round. "I handled myself really well and jumped a PR and I couldn't ask for anything more than that. I just had a lot of fun.
"The way I prepared this year, mentally, I knew what my strengths and weaknesses are and how I like to compete. Thankfully I'm a very relaxed competitor and I don't need to get hyped up, I don't get affected by other people and kept that mindset and it went well."
Facing elimination after missing her first two jumps, she cleared the bar with room to spare in her third attempt for an automatic berth in the final. In the lead-up to that jump, a magic moment came to Treasure when she looked up at the stadium Jumbotron and saw her mother, Cindy, sitting in the stands wearing and red and white maple leaf umbrella hat.
"It was absolutely hilarious, it was priceless, and she didn't know she was on the screen, which made it even funnier," laughed Treasure.
Treasure cleared the Olympic standard (1.93m) in May at a meet at Kansas State, then secured her place on the Olympic team when she won her third-straight Canadian championship in Edmonton in July. Making it as far as the Olympic final was gravy.
"It was a bit of a reach to not only jump well in the qualifier but to have to PR to make the final and I was very proud I came out and competed to the best of my ability," she said. "Overall I'm proud of the way I competed but a very close second was the frustration and drive to never let the finals go the way it went. I just felt I wasn't completely prepared for it."
The 17 finalists started with the bar at 1.88m, Treasure's personal record a year ago, and that weighed heavily on her mind. She'd never begun a competition with the bar starting any higher than 1.80m and she struggled on her first two leaps at 1.88m, but made it on the third jump to get to the next round. The bar was moved to 1.93m, just one centimetre shy of her best. Treasure knocked the bar off on all three attempts and was eliminated, finishing 17th in her first Olympic competition.
"The crowd was very laid back for the qualifier and they didn't seem that involved in the competition but for the final, Brazil had just won the men's soccer gold medal and the stadium was intense," said Treasure.
"I honestly love it to be surrounded by so many people. It's a natural high to be out there with that many people watching you. It's very individual in the international circuit, you're on your own, it's very different from the collegiate atmosphere where I always had a jumper (and teammate) with me to go through the competition. I don't work well with others and the collegiate atmosphere didn't work well for me. I like to be alone, I'm very independent and that's how I thrive as an athlete and thankfully it worked out for me."
During the Games, Treasure's collegiate coach at Kansas State the past four years, Cliff Rovelto, was coaching the American high jumpers, which prevented him from helping her. But his wife Karol, a former Olympic high jumper, took on the duties as her coach in Rio. After each jump, Treasure walked to the stands for feedback from her coach.
"I was pretty well-prepared, it was actually pretty relaxed and thankfully at the Pan Ams (last year in Toronto) I kind of got the experience of what it was to be at games and the (athletes) village and it was pretty similar," she said. "Thankfully for me there wasn't a moment where I was like, 'oh crap, I'm at the Olympics. I kept a level head and there weren't too many outside factors."
Treasure arrived in Rio de Janeiro a week before the Games and had two practice sessions before she competed. The women's high jump was one of the last events of the Games, with the qualifying round on Thursday, Aug. 18 and finals two days later, the day before the closing ceremonies.
"That was horrible, it was so difficult watching every else compete and be in the village, not able to do things, locked up," said Treasure. "They were partying hard, but I was there for business."
Ruth Beitia of Spain won the gold medal, Mirela Demireva of Bulgaria claimed silver and Blanka Vlasic of Croatia was the bronze medalist. All three cleared 1.97m.
The Rio Olympics marked only the second time Treasure has competed against the world's top athletes in a senior meet. She finished seventh at a Diamond League event in London, England one month before she went to Brazil, clearing 1.92m.
"Physically I'm there and I know I'm capable of a lot more and Rio was a very good experience to see that I can not only compete with these girls but I can beat them," said Treasure. "I just need to make sure when I get to a final again I am there and putting myself in position to be one of the top competitors and not struggle through it."
Led by sprinter Andre de Grasse, Canada finished eighth overall in track and field, the country's best Olympic showing in decades. After her final, Treasure left the stadium and went right to bed, exhausted. The next day she spent some time with her parents, Cindy and Steve, in Canada House before joining the other athletes in the stadium for the closing of the Games on a cool and wet evening.
"Everybody was just so excited to be done, because its so hard to get there," she said. "I'm so proud of my teammates to see them thrive at the top level. We have so many big players on the international scene right now and the next couple years we're going to have people doing some great things."
Treasure said she was feeling the love from her hometown during the Games, reading words of encouragement on email and the internet, knowing how her example is inspiring other athletes to stick with the sport. Back home in Prince George, Tom Masich, Treasure's Prince George Track and Field Club coach starting when she was an nine-year-old, was glued to his screen watching his first Olympian do the city proud.
"I remember the day he told me I could go far in track and field, I was such a little brat," said Treasure. "I couldn't be reined in and he said I need to refocus. I've been told since I was young age that this was where I needed to go.
"A couple of girls on social media spoke up about what it meant to them to have me participating and making it that far and that meant the world to me. It really motivated me to get more involved in athletes and children and trying to help other athletes to follow the path I've paved now. That's really important to me now."
Treasure returned to her home in Manhattan, Kan., where she's now tackling a masters program in business administration. She's working with the Kansas State University Wildcats track and field program as an office assistant, trying to save some money to help get her through the 2017 season.
With world championships looming in London next August, Treasure will resume training this winter. She wants to take aim at Debbie Brill's Canadian record of 1.98m and has made it her goal to compete in the next Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.
Funding for Canadian track and field athletes is not enough to cover her own living expenses and Treasure will be back in Prince George the first week of October trying to secure sponsorship and endorsement deals in her home province. She's also planning an social evening to thank the people who helped her get to where she is.
"I'm still struggling, it's a frustrating industry to be in, being an athlete, and things don't fall in your lap, especially for females" she said. "I have to work for everything I get and I'm working my butt off to pay for school."
Treasure said one of the keys to her success this year was that she's finally found a prescription drug, HUMIRA, to treat the symptoms of her Crohn's disease, which she has been dealing with since her senior year at high school.
"I think the reason I've struggled to be consistent and jump high was because I never had my health under control until this year," she said.
"Until this year, I had to take at least a couple days a month off because of my medication and I was unable to train and that was huge factor why I really struggled to stay on top of things. This year has been completely different. Now I understand why other athletes can do it. Take out the health issues and it's pretty easy."
Treasure is working with the nutrition supplement company USANA to promote their products and plans to become a spokesperson for the Crohn's and Colitis Canada to help people affected by those diseases to deal with their conditions.
