Russian · Volgograd, Russia · Born 3 June 1982Russian pole vaulter and two-time Olympic champion, the first woman to clear five metres and the sport's most successful record-breaker with 17 world records.
Born on 3 June 1982 in Volgograd, Russia, Yelena Isinbayeva trained in gymnastics from age five before a growth spurt made her too tall for the sport at 15, prompting a switch to pole vault under coach Yevgeny Trofimov. She progressed rapidly, winning the world youth title in 1999 and the world junior title in 2000. Isinbayeva set her first senior world record on 13 July 2003 in Gateshead, clearing 4.82m, and went on to win Olympic gold at the 2004 Athens Games with a world-record 4.91m. In 2005, she became the first woman ever to clear five metres, a milestone that established her as the dominant force in the event for the rest of the decade. She successfully defended her Olympic title at the 2008 Beijing Games, clearing 4.85m before an empty bar to set her 24th world record at 5.05m, then set her final and enduring world record of 5.06m in Zurich in August 2009 — a mark that stood as the world record for over a decade. Russian sportswriters dubbed her 'Bubka in a skirt' for her methodical, incremental record-breaking, echoing the pole vault legend's own career. Isinbayeva won three World Championship titles (2005, 2007, 2013) across her career, and was named IAAF Female Athlete of the Year three times (2004, 2005, 2008). She was controversially barred from the 2016 Rio Olympics due to the state-sponsored doping scandal involving Russian athletics, having planned to retire after one final gold; she instead retired in August 2016 upon joining the IOC Athletes' Commission.
Becoming the first woman to clear five metres and setting 17 world records
How They Played
Technically precise, methodical record-breaking vaulting style
Lasting Impact
Widely regarded as the greatest female pole vaulter in history
Russian Athletes