Isinbayeva claims third world title
Pole vaulter triumphs at World Athletics Championships.
It was a first global title for the 31-year-old two-time Olympic champion since she won at the Beijing Games in 2008. PHOTO: AFP
MOSCOW:
Russian Yelena Isinbayeva cemented her place in the pantheon of track and field greats by winning a third world pole vault title on home soil at the World Athletics Championships.
It was a first global title for the 31-year-old two-time Olympic champion since she won at the Beijing Games in 2008. Isinbayeva completely dominated the event in the run up to those Olympics in the Chinese capital, breaking the world record an incredible 28 times (13 indoor and 15 outdoor), before and just after, as she revolutionised the event.
On home soil in front of an expectant crowd at the Luzhniki Stadium, there could be only one Isinbayeva who turned up - one to win.
“It was the best ever support,” she said. “I felt like I was at home. I absorbed that and it resulted in a gold. The support was just colossal.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2013.
Russian Yelena Isinbayeva cemented her place in the pantheon of track and field greats by winning a third world pole vault title on home soil at the World Athletics Championships.
It was a first global title for the 31-year-old two-time Olympic champion since she won at the Beijing Games in 2008. Isinbayeva completely dominated the event in the run up to those Olympics in the Chinese capital, breaking the world record an incredible 28 times (13 indoor and 15 outdoor), before and just after, as she revolutionised the event.
On home soil in front of an expectant crowd at the Luzhniki Stadium, there could be only one Isinbayeva who turned up - one to win.
“It was the best ever support,” she said. “I felt like I was at home. I absorbed that and it resulted in a gold. The support was just colossal.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2013.