Russian high jump Olympic champion ready for comeback

Moscow, June 22 (IANS): Russian high jump Olympic champion Elena Slesarenko is ready to come back after staying away from the sport for two years.

“I’m doing everything possible to make this comeback happen,” Slesarenko said Saturday, reports Xinhua.

The 31-year-old Athens Olympics gold medallist has been preparing for the upcoming World Championships here this August. As part of the efforts to return, Slesarenko was preparing for her first competition, the Russian Championships which will last from June 22-25 here.

Slesarenko reached her personal best with the 2.06 leap m which brought her the Olympic gold in 2004. She reached fourth place at the World Championships in Daegu in 2011 at 1.97 m. Following that, Slesarenko left the sport and gave birth to a daughter, then had a knee operation last year.

According to the young mother, the birth of her daughter became a “stimulus” for her return.

“I’ve started to relate to everything more responsibly because I really want to come back (to competition),” she added.

She has to reach the 1.95 m qualification line and finish in the top three in the Russian Championships to compete in the World Championships.