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Isinbayeva has kept her own flag as well as that of Russia flying high in the athletics domain over the last decade (Getty Images)
By the year 2000, pole-vault made its Olympic debut, which wasn’t exactly the best one for Isinbayeva as she couldn’t get past the qualifying round. She definitely didn’t have it easy in her fledgling years in the sport and tasted much-awaited success a year later in 2001.
She kept her ascension on course with a spate of gold medals in the next couple of years, with stupendous showings at the European Championships, junior Championships and the European U-23 Championships. The build-up to her first world record had a confident ring to it and came as no surprise when it did happen.
The world record 4.82 metres she scaled knocked into her a readiness to push the limit each time she contested. If it had been about trying to be the best so far, the world-record breaking act transformed her into a bundle of quiet composure – someone not just ready to compete, but to win.
And these wins which she engineers so effortlessly and joyfully are hinged on an impeccable gymnastic background. Subjecting her body to the most trying configurations has been a delight for the Russian. It is widely believed that in her formative years, Yelena spent much of her time doing saltos, double saltos and the like, which have greatly enhanced her pole-vaulting skills.
The first world record was a harbinger of bigger things as she kept hoarding world records, pushing the bar each time she competed, sometimes failing, generally succeeding and looking primed for more.
The tremendous body balance she wields made her the first woman ever to breach the 5-metre barrier. It was a threshold that had mythical proportions, now brought down to its very knees by a marauding Isinbayeva.
A gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics paled in comparison to this record-breaking stereotype-smashing myth-busting moment of brilliance.
This patented brand of superiority relies on an exemplary “L-phase” that she has. For the uninitiated, the “L-phase” is the critical phase where it is vital to use the pole’s rebound to gain height from the horizontal speed achieved.
Her flawless second-phase running is a league above the entire field and is reckoned to be as professional as the men’s category, even better than most, as put forth by pole vault coach Steve Rippon.
Supple limbs provide her near-perfect take-offs and she promptly uses horizontal speed generated from the run to manifest as height. The 5.06 m world record that stands even to this day was a culmination of a continuous struggle against herself. She was her own biggest competitor, and with each record-breaking feat, followed it up with even tougher assignments.
