Yelena Isinbayeva

Yelena Isinbayeva

Personal information
Full name	Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva
Nationality	Russia
Date of birth	3 June 1982 (1982-06-03) (age 28)
Place of birth	Volgograd, then Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m)
Weight	65 kg (140 lb)
Sport
Country	Russia
Sport	Track and field athletics
Event(s)	Pole vault
Achievements and titles
Worlds	Outdoor: 2003, 2005, 2007 Indoor: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008
Regional finals	Outdoor: 2002, 2006 Indoor: 2005
Olympics	2004, 2008
Highest world ranking	1st (2005-2009)
Personal best(s)	outdoor: 5.06m (2009, WR) indoor: 5.00m (2009, WR)
Medal record Medal record Competitor for  Russia Women's athletics Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens Pole vault Gold 2008 Beijing Pole vault World Championships Bronze 2003 Paris Pole vault Gold 2005 Helsinki Pole vault Gold 2007 Osaka Pole vault World Indoor Championships Silver 2003 Birmingham Pole vault Gold 2004 Budapest Pole vault Gold 2006 Moscow Pole vault Gold 2008 Valencia Pole vault World Junior Championships Gold 2000 Santiago Pole vault World Youth Championships Gold 1999 Bydgoszcz Pole vault World Youth Games Gold 1998 Moscow Pole vault European Championships Silver 2002 Munich Pole vault Gold 2006 Gothenburg Pole vault European Indoor Championships Gold 2005 Madrid Pole vault

Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva (Russian: Елена Гаджиевна Исинбаева, ISO 9: Elena Gadžievna Isinbayeva) (born 3 June 1982) is a Russian pole vaulter. She is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2004 and 2008), was named Female Athlete of the Year by the IAAF in 2004, 2005 and 2008, and World Sportswoman of the Year by Laureus in 2007 and 2009. Prince of Asturias Award for Sports in 2009. As a result of her accomplishments, many consider her to be the greatest female pole-vaulter of all time.

On 22 July 2005 she became the first woman to clear the historic 5.00 metre barrier in the pole vault.

At the age of 27 Isinbayeva has been a nine-time major champion (Olympic, World outdoor and indoor champion and European outdoor and indoor champion).

Isinbayeva's current world records are 5.06 m outdoors, a record Isinbayeva set in Zurich on August 28, 2009, and 5.00 m indoors, a record set at the Donetsk indoor meeting on 15 February 2009. The former was Isinbayeva's twenty-seventh world record.

Career

1987-1997

From the age of 5 to 15, Isinbayeva trained as a gymnast in her hometown of Volgograd. She ultimately left the sport because as she grew she was considered too tall to be competitive in gymnastics, ultimately attaining a height of 1.74 m (5' 8½").

1998-2002

Six months after having taken up pole-vaulting she won her first major victory at age 16 during the 1998 World Youth Games in Moscow, Russia with a height of 4.00 m. It was her third athletic competition.^[1] She jumped the same height at the 1998 World Junior Championships in Annecy, France, but this left her 10 cm away from the medal placings. In 1999, Isinbayeva improved on this height at the World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland when she cleared 4.10 m to take her second gold medal.

At the 2000 World Juniors Isinbayeva again took first place clearing 4.20 m ahead of German Annika Becker. The same year the women's pole vault made its debut as an Olympic event in Sydney, Australia where Stacy Dragila of the United States took gold. In the same event Isinbayeva did not make it out of the qualifying round.

She won another gold medal in 2001, this time at the European Junior Championships with a winning height of 4.40 m.

Isinbayeva continued to improve and 2002 saw her clear 4.55 m at the European Championships, where she gained her first senior championship medal (silver), finishing 5 cm short of her compatriot Svetlana Feofanova.

2003

2003 was another year of progression and saw Isinbayeva win the European Under 23 Championships gold with 4.65 m (in Bydgoszcz). On July 13, 2003, just about a month after her 21st birthday, Isinbayeva set her first World Record at a meeting in Gateshead, England with a height of 4.82 m, which had made her the favourite to take gold at the World Championships the following month. She ended up winning the bronze medal with Feofanova taking gold and Becker the silver.

2004

At a meeting at Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva set a new indoor world record, with a height of 4.83 m only to see Feofanova increase this by two centimetres the following week. The following month at the World's Indoor in March Isinbayeva broke Feofanova's record with a gold medal winning jump of 4.86 m beating reigning indoor & outdoor champion Feofanova into bronze with reigning Olympic champion Dragila taking silver. The IAAF considered all three records to be over-all (outdoor) records, hence the indoor and outdoor records now stood at 4.86 m

27 June saw Isinbayeva return to Gateshead and improved the world record to 4.87 m. Feofanova responded the following week by breaking the record by a centimetre in Heraklion, Greece.

On 25 July in Birmingham, England, Isinbayeva reclaimed the record jumping 4.89 m and five days later in Crystal Palace, London, added a further centimetre to the record.

The pole vault was one of the most eagerly awaited events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. When Feofanova failed at 4.90 m the gold medal was Isinbayeva's, and she subsequently set a new world record height of 4.91 m. She broke her own record later that year at the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels with a 4.92 m jump. It was her eight world record of the season, which along with her Olympic & World Indoor title helped her gain her first World Athlete of the Year award.

2005

At the European Indoor Championships in Madrid, Spain Isinbayeva won gold with a new indoor world record of 4.90 m. In July 2005, Isinbayeva broke the world record four times over three separate meetings. First in Lausanne, Switzerland, she added an extra centimetre to her own mark clearing 4.93 m. It was the 14th world record of Isinbayeva's career coming just three months after she broke her own indoor mark (4.89 m) in Lievin. Eleven days later, in Madrid, Spain, she added an additional 2 cm to clear 4.95 m. In Crystal Palace, London on 22 July, after improving the record to 4.96 m, she raised the bar to 5.00 m. She then became the first woman in history to clear the once mythical five-metre barrier in pole vaulting, achieving the monumental mark with a single attempt.

After the women's pole vault final at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland was delayed due to extremely bad weather conditions, Isinbayeva once again broke her own world record, performing 5.01 m in her second attempt, and winning the competition with a 41 cm margin of victory, which was the greatest margin ever obtained in any World or Olympic competition for the event.^[2] This was already the eighteenth world record in the career of the then 23-year-old Isinbayeva and her successful season was crowned with her second consecutive World Athlete of the Year award.

2006

Isinbayeva being interviewed after her victory at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka.

At an indoor meeting on 12 February in Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva set a new indoor world record. She cleared 4.91 m. In March she successfully defended her World Indoor title in front of a homeland crowd in Moscow, Russia. During the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg she won the gold medal with a CR of 4.80 metres. This was the only gold medal missing from her collection until that time. In September she won the World Cup, representing Russia, in Athens.

Isinbayeva was crowned Laureus World Sports Woman of the Year for the 2006 season.

2007

On 10 February 2007 in Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva broke the world indoor pole vault record again, by clearing 4.93 metres. It was Isinbayeva's 20th world record.^[3]

On 28 August 2007 Isinbayeva repeated as world champion in Osaka at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics with a 4.80 m performance, then failed three times at setting a new world record at 5.02 m. Her competition did no better than 4.75 m.

In 2007 she also won the IAAF Golden League Jackpot (which she shared with Sanya Richards) after having won all 2007 IAAF Golden League meetings. Isinbayeva was unbeaten in the 2007 season and won 18 out of 18 competitions.^[4]

2008

During the indoor season, Isinbayeva set her twenty-first world record, clearing 4.95 metres on 16 February 2008 in Donetsk, Ukraine. A few weeks later, in Valencia, Spain, Isinbayeva won the World Indoor Championships over Jennifer Stuczynski. It was Isinbayeva's third consecutive World Indoor title.^[5]

Isinbayeva passing the bar in Osaka

On 11 July, at her first outdoor competition of the season, Rome's Golden Gala, Isinbayeva broke her own world record, clearing 5.03 metres. This was her first world record outdoors since the 2005 World Championships. Isinbayeva stated that she had tried 5.02 metres so many times unsuccessfully that her coach told her to change something and so she attempted 5.03 metres.^[6] This record came just as people began to speculate her fall from the top of pole vaulting, as American Jennifer Stuczynski cleared 4.92 metres at the American Olympic Trials. Isinbayeva stated that this motivated her to maintain her reputation as the world's greatest female pole vaulter.^[7] A few weeks later, at the Aviva London Grand Prix, Isinbayeva and Stuczynski competed together for the first time of the outdoor season. Isinbayeva won the competition, with Stuczynski finishing second. Both attempted a new world record of 5.04 metres. Isinbayeva was tantalizingly close on her final attempt, with the bar falling only after Isinbayeva had landed on the mat.^[8]

She successfully cleared that height on 29 July, in Monte-Carlo, Monaco, her twenty-third world record.^[9]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing on 18 August, Isinbayeva needed two vaults to prolong her Olympic title reign and went on to finish the competition with 5.05m, a world record at the time, her 24th world record.^[10]

On 23 November in Monaco, she was selected World Athlete of the Year by the IAAF for the third time in her career, along with Jamaican male sprinter Usain Bolt.

2009

Isinbayeva started the 2009 season by becoming the first woman to vault over 5 metres indoors. She first raised her world indoor mark with a vault of 4.97 m, then raised the bar to 5.00 m and cleared that height as well. The two marks were set at the "Pole Vault Stars" indoor meet, on 15 February, in Donetsk, Ukraine. It was the sixth consecutive year she had set an indoor world record in this meet.^[11] She received the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year in recognition of her achievements – it was also the fifth time she had been nominated for the award in as many years.^[12] At the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany, Isinbayeva lost her second competition of the year after failing to achieve a successful vault. She lost to Anna Rogowska who also beat her in the London Grand Prix in May.^[13] However, Yelena Isinbayeva broke her own women's pole vault world record at the Weltklasse Golden League meeting by clearing 5.06 m. On September 2 she was given the 2009 Prince of Asturias Award for Sports.

Reasons for success

Setting 27 world records (15 outdoor and 12 indoor), staying virtually unbeaten between 2004 and 2009 (winning nine straight gold medals in indoor and outdoor championships) and being elected IAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2004, 2005 and 2008, Isinbayeva has established herself as one of the most successful athletes of her generation.

In August 2005, top UK pole vault coach Steve Rippon said to the BBC that "she [Isinbayeva] is one of the few female pole vaulters I look at and think her technique is as good as the men's. In fact, the second part of her jump is probably better than any male pole vaulter currently competing. She has a fantastic technique, she's quite tall (almost 5ft 9in) and she runs extremely well."^[14]

These statements are confirmed by close observation of her jumps; in detail, Isinbayeva's high level of body control (courtesy of her gymnastics background) especially pays off in the so-called "L-Phase", where it is vital to use the pole's rebound to convert horizontal speed into height. Common mistakes are getting rebounded away in an angle (rather than vertically up) or inability to keep the limbs stiff, both resulting in loss of vertical speed and therefore less height. In Isinbayeva's case, her L-Phase is exemplary.

Commitment

Yelena Isinbayeva is now a member of the ‘Champions for Peace’ club, a group of 40 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Monaco-based international organization Peace and Sport.

Personal life

Her father, Gadzhi Gadzhiyevich Isinbayev, is a plumber and a member of a small (130,000-people strong) ethnic group of Tabasarans who mostly live in Dagestan. Her mother, a shop assistant, is an ethnic Russian. Isinbayeva also has a sister named Inna. Isinbayeva came from humble beginnings and remembers that her parents had to make many financial sacrifices in her early career.^[15][16][17]

She has both a Bachelor's and Master's Degree after graduating from the Volgograd State Academy of Physical Culture. Currently she is continuing her post-graduate studies there and also studying at the Donetsk National Technical University.

In the Russian club competitions she represents the railroad military team; she is formally an officer in the Russian army, and on 4 August 2005 she was given military rank of senior lieutenant. On 19 August 2008 she was promoted to the military rank of Captain.

She features in Toshiba ads promoting their entire product line in Russia. She also appears in a Lady's Speed Stick advertisement in Russia..

Major achievements

Isinbayeva celebrating her 2007 World Championships win.

Results

Isinbayeva with a winner's bouquet

2004

• 1st – 4.83 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.86 m – World Indoor Championships, Budapest, Hungary
• 1st – 4.87 m – IAAF Gateshead, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.89 m – Birmingham International Meeting, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.90 m – British Grand Prix London, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.91 m – Summer Olympics, Athens, Greece
• 1st – 4.92 m – Golden League Brussels, Belgium
• 1st – 4.83 m – 2nd World Atletics Final, Monte Carlo, Monaco

2005

• 1st – 4.87 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.90 m – European Indoor Championships, Madrid, Spain
• 1st – 4.93 m – IAAF Lausanne, Switzerland
• 1st – 4.95 m – Meeting de Madrid, Spain
• 1st – 5.00 m – IAAF London, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.79 m – IAAF Stockholm, Sweden
• 1st – 5.01 m – World Championships, Helsinki, Finland
• 1st – 4.93 m – Golden League Brussels, Belgium
• 1st – 4.74 m – 3rd World Athletics Final, Monte Carlo, Monaco

2006

• 1st – 4.91 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.79 m – Norwich Union Grand Prix, Birmingham, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.72 m – Meeting Gaz de France du Pas-de-Calais, Lievin, France
• 1st – 4.80 m – World Indoor Championships, Moscow, Russia
• 1st – 4.76 m – IAAF Paris Saint-Denis, France
• 1st – 4.90 m – IAAF Lausanne, Switzerland
• 1st – 4.91 m – IAAF London, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.80 m – European Championships, Gothenburg, Sweden
• 1st – 4.81 m – Golden League Brussels, Belgium
• 1st – 4.75 m – 4th World Athletics Final, Stuttgart, Germany

2007

• 1st – 4.93 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.91 m – Meeting Gaz De France, Paris, France
• 1st – 4.90 m – Golden League Rome, Italy
• 1st – 4.82 m – Norwich Union Super Grand Prix, London, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.80 m – World Championships, Osaka, Japan
• 1st – Golden League Brussels, Belgium
• 1st – 4.87 m – 5th World Athletics Final, Stuttgart, Germany

2008

• 1st – 4.95 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.75 m – World Indoor Championships, Valencia, Spain
• 1st – 5.03 m – Golden Gala, Rome, Italy
• 1st – 5.04 m – Super Grand Prix, Monte Carlo, Monaco
• 1st – 5.05 m – Summer Olympics, Beijing, China
• 1st – 4.88 m – IAAF Zurich, Switzerland

2009

• 1st – 5.00 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.82 m – Aviva Grand Prix, Birmingham, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.83 m – ISATF Berlin, Germany
• 1st – 4.65 m – Meeting Gaz de France, Paris, France
• 2nd - 4.68 m - Aviva London Grand Prix, London, Great Britain
• no height recorded - World Championships, Berlin, Germany
• 1st – 5.06 m – IAAF Golden League, Zurich, Switzerland

Records

(Records in bold are current ones.)

Awards and achievements

Winners of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year 2000: Marion Jones* · 2001: Cathy Freeman · 2002: Jennifer Capriati · 2003: Serena Williams · 2004: Annika Sörenstam · 2005: Kelly Holmes · 2006: Janica Kostelić · 2007: Yelena Isinbayeva · 2008: Justine Henin · 2009: Yelena Isinbayeva · 2010: Serena Williams * Since this award, Jones has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. Her award is in doubt.

Records
Preceded by Stacy Dragila Svetlana Feofanova Svetlana Feofanova	Women's Pole Vault World Record Holder July 13, 2003 – February 20, 2004 March 6, 2004 – July 4, 2004 July 25, 2004 –	Succeeded by Svetlana Feofanova Svetlana Feofanova Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Hestrie Cloete	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 2004 – 2005	Succeeded by Sanya Richards
Preceded by Kelly Holmes Blanka Vlašić	Women's European Athlete of the Year 2005 2008	Succeeded by Carolina Klüft Marta Domínguez
Preceded by Janica Kostelic Justine Henin	World Sportswoman of the Year 2007 2009	Succeeded by Justine Henin Incumbent
Preceded by Rafael Nadal	Prince of Asturias Award for Sports 2009	Succeeded by Incumbent

See also

• Stacy Dragila
• Svetlana Feofanova

References

External links

• Yelena Isinbayeva - Official Webpage
• IAAF profile for Yelena Isinbayeva
• Flotrack.com Video Interview of Yelena Isinbayeva during the 100th Millrose Games

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