2024 wasn’t kind to Rickie Fowler, just on the greens. But the golfer has managed to pass through the struggle, he did so with the help of his wife, Allison Stokke. However, she is not just known for being the athlete’s soulmate. His wife used to boast an athletic career as well, something which she has since a while back, said goodbye to.

But if you think she was into golf, you’re wrong. Her interest in sport lay in gymnastics. And this, she was able to choose, all thanks to her older brother David Stokke, who himself was a national-level gymnast. But as fate would have it, her relationship with the sport wasn’t meant to be, for she would soon choose another one. Enter pole vaulting!

Rickie Fowler’s wife and her interest in pole vaulting

Born on March 22, 1989, in Newport Beach, California, Fowler’s wife was initially roped into gymnastics. However, soon after joining Newport Harbor High School, the athlete took a liking to pole vaulting, following which she managed to break the high school freshman American record. By senior year, she was ranked second in the state as well as the country for the sport.

The high school record of the 3.86-meter vault came in 2004 when she was participating in the US Championship in the 15-16 age division. Soon after, in the same year, Fowler’s future partner went ahead to break her own record once again with a 4.11-meter jump. Talented as she was, Stokke’s achievements helped her receive recruitment offers from colleges including Harvard, Stanford, and UCLA. But her choice fell on UC Berkeley, California, from where she landed a scholarship as well.

Her career as a pole vaulter would soon pick up, and by 2008, she would break a record at school while still being a freshman and a part of the California Golden Bears Athletics. Back then, Allison Stokke posted a freshman record of 13-5.75 (4.11 m) at the Pac-10 Championships. Impressive? Wait till you hear the rest of her feats in her sophomore and junior years at the University of California.

Come 2009, her sophomore year of high school. The athlete went ahead to finish eighth at the Pac-10 meet and achieved a personal best (13-9.75) while earning an NCAA regional qualifying at the Sacramento Open. The following year, meanwhile, witnessed her raking in many accolades, including an MPSF All-Academic (indoors), USTFCCCA All-Academic & Honorable Mention, and a Pac-10 All-Academic (outdoors) honor. But all of this wasn’t enough to earn her a spot on the American Olympic team.

Stokke loses out on the Olympics trial

It was the 2012 London Olympics. Allison Stokke was hoping to try her best at the American Olympic team trials to earn a spot to represent her country at the quadrennial event. However, the athlete fell short of the required criteria of 4.25 m, following which she failed to qualify for the same.

Although Fowler’s future wife failed to earn a spot on the team, her collegiate career was more than enough to earn her sponsorship deals from various brands, including Nike, Uniqlo, and GoPro, among others. Soon after, the years that followed saw the pole vaulting athlete’s performance gradually start to decline. And in the midst of all this, she had become viral in 2007, but for all the wrong reasons.

Future Mrs. Fowler’s unfortunate experience in 2007

It was 2007, a decade before Rickie Fowler and Allison Stokke made their relationship public. Back then, pictures of the then-teenage pole vaulting athlete in her element were shared across a lot of sports blogs. Unfortunate as it was, many comments were made about her body all the while sexualizing her, causing her to feel a little creeped out, owing to the same.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, she mentioned how being leered at over a computer was “a little creepy and a little scary.” Understandable, to be honest, seeing as how Stokke was being overlooked for the hard work that she put in. “Even if none of it is illegal, it just all feels really demeaning,” explained the athlete. “I worked so hard for pole vaulting and all this other stuff, and it’s almost like that doesn’t matter. Nobody sees that. Nobody really sees me.” 

Little did she know that the athlete would find someone who sees her for who she truly is despite not making it in the sport of pole vaulting.

Rickie Fowler and Allison Stokke’s adorable love life

The two were first spotted together in 2017. And adorably enough, the golfer popped the question to her a year later, following which they tied the knot with each other in 2019. Fast forward to 2024, and the couple is now a family of four with two baby girls, Maya and Nellie, the former of whom was born in 2021 and the latter in 2024.

Although Allison Stokke might not have achieved all that she had hoped to gain in the sport of pole vaulting, she has managed to play a crucial role in her husband’s career. And with the newest addition to the family that they had in 2024, the support that he would receive has only increased multiple-fold. Lucky Rickie Fowler? Well, you got that right!