Yelena Isinbayeva

About Yelena Isinbayeva

Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva (Russian: Елена Гаджиевна Исинбаева; born June 3, 1982 (1982-06-03) (age 26) in Volgograd) is a Russian pole vaulter. She is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2004 and 2008), was elected Female Athlete of the Year by the IAAF twice (2004 and 2005), and Sportswoman of the Year by Laureus. On July 22, 2005, she became the first female pole vaulter to clear 5.00 metres.

At the age of 26 Isinbayeva is seen as the best female pole vaulter in history. She has already been a 9-time major champion (Olympic, World outdoor and indoor champion and European outdoor and indoor champion).

Isinbayeva's current world records are 5.05 m outdoors, a record Isinbayeva set at the Summer Olympics Games in Beijing on August 18, 2008, and 4.95 m indoors, a record set at the Donetsk indoor meeting on February 16, 2008. The former was Isinbayeva's twenty-fourth world record.