Yelena Isinbayeva is a former Russian athlete who specialized in pole vaulting. She has garnered two Olympic gold medals (2004 and 2008), secured three World Championships titles (2005, 2007, and 2013), currently maintains the world record in the pole vault event, and is widely recognized as the greatest female pole vaulter in history. Yelena Isinbayeva was disqualified from participating in the Rio 2016 Olympics due to revelations of Russia’s extensive state-sponsored doping scheme, causing her plans to retire upon achieving the Olympic gold medal to be thwarted. Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva ceased participating in athletics in August 2016 upon her appointment to the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission for an eight-year term.
Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva was born on June 3, 1982, in Volgograd, Russian SSR, Soviet Union. She participated in gymnastics from the ages of 5 to 15 before transitioning to athletics.
After six months of beginning training in pole vaulting, she achieved her first significant victory at the 1998 World Youth Games in Moscow, Russia, clearing a height of 4.00 m. One year subsequently, she achieved the gold medal at the World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz. Throughout her early career, she achieved victories at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Santiago, the 2001 European Junior Championships in Grosseto, and the 2003 European U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz.
Yelena Isinbayeva is recognized as a highly accomplished pole vaulter, having achieved notable success in her career. She has earned two Olympic gold medals in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, as well as one bronze medal in London 2012. Furthermore, she has achieved the status of a four-time World Indoor Champion by securing titles in the years 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2012. Isinbayeva has achieved success as a three-time World Champion, winning gold in the years 2005, 2007, and 2013.
Her personal bests include 5.06m outdoors (world record set in 2009) and 5.01m indoors (European record set in 2012). Yelena Isinbayeva has achieved victories in the World Cup in 2006, the European Championships in 2006, and the European Indoor Championships in 2005.
Undoubtedly, she is regarded as one of the most accomplished and successful pole vaulters in history, having amassed a notable collection of Olympic, World, and European titles, in addition to multiple world record-breaking performances.
Yelena Isinbayeva photos
