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Name a pole vaulter. Honestly, try naming any pole vaulter in history -- any gender, any nationality, any era.And, no, not a decathlete -- a pole vaulter.Got a name?Probably not. But for millions, the image of a photo might have flickered through your mind: that of a young woman standing in a white athletic top, her right arm extended behind her head to adjust her ponytail, her midriff showing, a pole resting across her shoulder. In the photo, which was taken in while she was in high school, Allison Stokke is looking off into the distance, clearly preparing for an attempt.The photo was posted in 2008 to a sports blog, along with the following text: Meet pole vaulter Allison Stokke... Hubba hubba and other grunting sounds.Within weeks, dozens of other blogs and message boards picked up the image. Calculating just how many people have seen the photo is impossible. But heres some anecdotal evidence to suggest that number is ridiculously high: the same week the image was posted online, Stokke opened up Facebook.She had infinity friend requests.The number of requests pouring into her account had broken Facebooks counting mechanism. Or consider this: the week after the photo appeared online, Cindy Stokke went to the neighborhood dry cleaner, where the woman behind the counter looked at her ticket, saw the last name and asked if she was related to the girl in the pole-vaulting picture.Yes, thats my daughter.Apparently everyone in Korea, where the store owner was from, was talking about the image.In the infamous photo, Stokke is competing in a high school meet. She is, in that moment, an athlete, just as she is now. The year the viral photo was taken, she was 17 years old and the best high school vaulter in the country. In the picture, she is strong, her body taut.Of course, thats not why the photo went viral -- not really. The image tore across the web because men thought she looked hot. Part of that hotness is certainly her strength, her body, which also helps make her a better pole vaulter.But lets not kid ourselves: very few people ogling the photo saw Stokke through the athlete prism. They saw sex. Hubba, hubba.The picture is like a Rubin vase for sports. What do you see when you look at the photo: a female athlete preparing to vault, or a sexy young woman striking a pose?If most people see only sex, even though Stokke was literally in the middle of a competition, and if she does not want to be a sex symbol and really loathes the idea, then how does she continue being an athlete? If society has intertwined those two identities, how does she go about being one without reinforcing the other?I feel like me and that picture are two different people, Stokke says. I feel it has taken on a life of its own. Its like that picture is my alter-ego and sometimes I feel like I use it for a positive force, and sometimes I just choose to leave it out there and not engage with it.What a strange space we launched her into -- and at age 18.Stokke is now 27, and shes still vaulting. In fact, last year, the Cal graduate moved from California to Phoenix, where shes training, working under a new coach and surrounded by the very best. She wanted to give herself the best chance to achieve her lifelong dream: making the Olympic team. The Southern California native briefly gave up her sport a few years ago, deciding she needed to move on and get her masters. But she quickly realized she wasnt yet done. She still wanted to try to twist her body over greater and greater heights.The USA Track & Field Olympic Trials are in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday. Stokke will be watching from the sidelines, as her 4.20 meter entry mark didnt meet the 4.50m minimum standard, but shell continue to train and compete.Its July of 2015, and Stokke is sitting in the back of a coffee shop in Orange County when the guy at the next table leans into her space. She catches the movement out of the corner of her eye. Her smile freezes; her hand tightens around her café au lait.I couldnt help but eavesdrop, he says, but were you talking about sports?She was, in fact. She was talking about why she first started vaulting (she grew out of gymnastics), her years at the University of California (2006 to 2010), the small international competitions in Europe where you rent a car and drive all night instead of paying for a hotel, and about chasing the 2016 Olympic dream.Stokke smiles in the mans direction without making eye contact and says: Yup!He waits for her to say more, then nods, satisfied, as if this is the coolest thing hes heard in a while, then he drifts back into his space.Stokke exhales.In the months after the picture went viral, photographers would kneel beneath her at meets, shooting upward as she stood on the runway before an attempt. Grown men would send postcards, with handwritten notes, to her home in California -- some of the sentiments were kind; some were not.When Stokke vaulted at Cal, the school removed her headshot from its website because men would constantly request a signed copy. And in the years immediately after the image went viral, she would often get asked to pose for pictures with men who couldnt believe they had run into the young woman from that super hot photo on the internet.Or with men who really could believe they had, because they orchestrated a meeting, attending the event just to take a picture with Stokke.So, no, its not an overblown reaction if Stokke builds an invisible wall when someone unexpectedly leans into her space. A lot of people have leaned into her space. And shes mostly chosen to stay still -- very still -- and wait for them to go away.Google her name -- its almost like she didnt exist between 2009 and 2014. At that point, I wasnt the best vaulter in the country, so why should I be getting that much attention? she says. It cut the other way, too, though. I think at some point Cal just decided: Dont put anything up about her. So even if I jumped high or won a meet, they wouldnt put up a picture or article, and thats actually the kind of recognition I would have liked to see.Even as a teenager, Stokke recognized her situation as a Catch-22. The attention she had garnered -- coverage by Glamour, offers from Maxim, calls to appear on The Today Show -- was disproportionate to her athletic achievements. Though she didnt yet have the language for her predicament, she sensed that waiting out the storm would be the best solution for her.Some people around her wondered why she didnt seize the moment: accept the spread in Maxim, the modeling contract, fly to New York to appear on the morning shows. Do all of it. After all, who knows if youll have the chance again?But the part never mentioned is that, once someone walks through that door, it snaps shut. Once a female athlete is publicly labeled beautiful, we offer her the world. But heres the trick: once she accepts it, we tear her apart, say shes exploiting and sexualizing herself. Oh, and we also say that shes not even that good, anyway.Ive never seen this viral thing happen to a male athlete who isnt also already the best at what they do, Stokke says. Yes, male athletes are also hailed for being incredibly attractive, but theyre usually top-ranked in the world, too.So Stokke kept fighting to become better.I think I saw her grow up faster, says her mom, Cindy. She saw how the world can be, saw how some people can be really cruel, some people can be great. I think she realized, I cant be so concerned about what everyone else thinks; I have to pursue my career and my dream and my sport.Stokke is not a victim.On this point, she is adamant, almost desperate. She did one print interview when this whole thing happened, with a magazine, and the energy conveyed by the piece was that Stokke was somehow wronged. Truth is: convincing people that unwanted attention from men isnt flattering -- and often also feels threatening -- is difficult.Stokke isnt good at being a victim. Shes an athlete; shes conditioned to mold herself to become whatever necessary. If she was going to be in the limelight, it was going to be because she was an athlete, and she knew that was about her looks, says Cindy. She wanted to be known for her ability to pole vault. Thats what she wanted.Says Stokke: At Cal, I wrote about it once for a Sociology class. We were supposed to write about some deep thing that affected you emotionally, and then you had the option to share, or not share and delete it. And I didnt share it. I deleted it. I wish I still had that somewhere, because I think it would be very different now.My response back then, in 2008 -- was I flattered? In some ways, sure. But I was overwhelmed, too. And I think my response to being overwhelmed was to just stay away from it entirely. But now, Im trying to figure out how to reclaim it and own it and push it in the right direction. And benefit from it -- in terms of fueling my training. And if I try to ignore it, it will take on a life of its own. Which is what I did in college: ignore it. And I lost control of my own story.In an earlier version of this story, we incorrectly said Stokke would be competing in the?USA Track & Field Olympic trials on July 8. Nike Air Max 720 Rea . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Nike Air Max 90 Sverige . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. http://www.reaairmaxsverige.com/air-max-270-rabatt.html . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Nike Air Max 97 Dam Sverige . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Nike Air Max Billigt Rea . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The health of Usain Bolt has been a question as the showman enters his final Olympics nursing a sore hamstring.His parents paid him a brief visit in the athletes village and insisted Friday hes ready to run and defend his gold medals.Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt both inquired about their sons health in their Thursday night visit with the sprinter. Bolt pulled out of his national championships last month because of the hamstring injury, but has insisted hes fine to compete in Brazil.He said `Mom, if I wasnt ready, I wouldnt be here because Im not into the losing thing. Im ready, said Jennifer Bolt.Bolt is trying to win the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay -- just like the last two Olympics -- to close his career with nine gold medals. The 100-meter final is Sunday and Bolt races in his first heat the day before.The Bolts spoke to a small group of reporters during a news conference, giving anecdotes from Bolts childhood and discussing his rise into a global superstar.Although he was born roughly 10 days past his due date -- the only time in his life he was slow, she said -- hes been fast ever since. She recognized he might be special just three weeks after his birth when he nearly fell off a bed and she noticed him trying to push himself up.I thought `What kind of a child is this? Three weeks old and hes pushing! she said.He was off and running from there, just like both of his parents. He once had to sprint home from school to collect his forgotten lunch and by 10, he could beat his mother in a race. Two years later, they knew for certain they had an athlete on their hands.At the age of 12, being in primary school, he started to compete in school sports and he was always on top and he was always beating his classmates, she recalled. From then, we noticed he would be a great athlete.He may have inherited his speed from his parents -- and father Wellesley took credit Friday for Bolts dance moves -- but the sprinter is a far bigger entertainer. The Bolts were soft-spoken and almost shy, although they said they appreciated the opportunity to tell reporters about their son.They still live in the same modest one-story home in Trelawney, Jamaica, and wouldnt dream of mooving anywhere else.dddddddddddd Moving would require making new friends and leaving behind what they know. Besides, life in Trelawney has improved significantly since Bolts first gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.Since their son became a star, Trelawney now has running water, a paved road, refurbished clinics, health centers and schools and a new playground for kids.Wellesley still reports for work at the village shop, where he sells as much as he gives away.Its something to occupy my time so I dont get lazy, he said. As parents, we are proud of him, but we dont think it is fair of us to be acting over the head of the rest of the community. So I operate the shop mainly to give away what we have.They also enjoy Trelawney because Bolt can move freely through the community. Although he draws a crowd everywhere he goes, they said their son is happy at home. Once hes retired, they look forward to the crowds letting him be.He will be able to move around as he wants, Jennifer said. People always want to get close to him, not to hurt him, but just get close to him.She said she has seen no change in her son as his stardom grows. From his debut in the 2002 junior world championships, Jennifer insisted Bolt is still the good child who listens to his parents.The one thing that did grow, though, was Bolts love of the spotlight. Although Wellesley characterized him as playful at home, it wasnt until Bolt took the world stage in Beijing that he realized how much entertainment he could give a crowd.In Beijing, he started doing all these things and realized people really liked it, Wellesley said. Thats when he became an entertainer.Bolt, who turns 30 on Aug. 21, has been adamant these will be his final Olympics. His parents believe him and think hes determined to go out a winner. When hes through competing, they know exactly what they want him to do.I would like him to be an ambassador to track and field because he brings fun to the sport, Jennifer said. After he leaves, you dont know who will take over his role. Without him, it would be really boring. ' ' '