News13 Feb 2005


Isinbayeva is immediately up, up and away to a new season and a new World Indoor record!

FacebookTwitterEmail

Yelena Isinbayeva makes the World Indoor record in Donetsk (© IAAF)

Yelena Isinbayeva made her 2005 debut an auspicious one, setting a new World Indoor record of 4.87 to highlight the high-charged and thoroughly entertaining Zepter Pole Vault Stars Meeting in this southeast Ukrainian city on Saturday (12 Feb).

Picking up where she left off in 2004

Picking up virtually where she left off late last summer, the Olympic champion and 2004 Athlete of the Year added a centimetre to the indoor standard she set last March when she leaped to the World Indoor title in Budapest. The 22-year-old Russian took just five jumps during the competition, with her sizable clearances at 4.50, 4.70 and 4.75 clearly indicating that a record at the sold-out Druzhba Auditorium was all but certain. After a first attempt run-through, Isinbayeva rocked steadily to the blaring beat of her chosen jump song, before storming down the runway before her seemingly effortless leap, again clearing with several centimetres to spare.

“Thank you so much,” she told the wildly enthusiastic crowd of more than 4000 after the competition. “That record was for you.” Her effort was rewarded with a shiny metallic-coloured Skoda Otavia V that was unveiled prior to the competition. So eager to get behind the wheel of her new car, Isinbayeva skipped the post-meet press conference formalities, hoping instead to just drive away.

It was the second consecutive year that Isinbayeva established a new record at the Donetsk competition, the year’s premiere indoor gathering of Pole Vault talent. Last year she scaled 4.81 and 4.83 with first-attempt clearances.

Rogowska the best of the rest

Behind Isinbayeva, Anna Rogowska and Monica Pyrek continued their battle for Polish supremacy in the event, with Rogowska, the 23-year-old Olympic bronze medallist, again finishing ahead. Besides an early miss at 4.40, Rogowska was perfect through 4.70, before scaling 4.75 in her second attempt, setting her third national record in as many weeks to finish second behind Isinbayeva. With a third-attempt clearance of 4.70, Pyrek too jumped to a new personal best, finishing third.

Young German Caroline Hingst and Russian Tatyana Polnova tied for fourth, topping out at 4.60. For Hingst, it was a huge improvement indoors, adding 30 centimetres to her previous personal best. Natalya Belinskaya, another vaulter from Russia’s vast pool of talent, was sixth, beating 2000 Olympic champion Stacy Dragila on the countback. Each managed 4.50 clearances. Donetsk was the last meet of an abbreviated season for the American, who jumped to victories earlier in Reno’s Pole Vault Summit and last weekend’s Millrose Games.

Feofanova is off-colour

Olympic silver medallist Svetlana Feofanova opted out of the competition, telling meet organizer Sergey Bubka that she simply wasn’t in form to compete in Donetsk. Three weeks ago the reigning World outdoor Champion jumped 4.53 in a competition in Bydgoszcz, Poland in her only outing thus far this season.

MEN- Miles is not to be upstaged

While taking a back seat to Isinbayeva’s record-setting antics, the men’s competition was fiercely contested, with American Derek Miles turning in a minor upset to win after a first attempt clearance of 5.85. It was a personal best and world-leading effort for the 32-year-old, adding three centimetres to his previous best set three years ago.

“This is the third time I’ve come here, and this is obviously the highest I’ve ever jumped in my life,” said Miles, who called his win here the finest of his career. “And to do that here with the crowd and the excitement was just an amazing experience.”

After a season-opening 5.60m effort at the Pole Vault summit in Reno, Miles followed up with a win at the Millrose Games last weekend, jumping 5.70. Two of his three jumps at 5.90 were reasonably close, signaling there may be more in the tank as Miles’ season continues.

Russian Igor Pavlov, fourth in Athens last year, and the reigning World Indoor champion was consistent here, clearing 5.60, 5.70 and 5.80 on his first attempt to finish second, beating back the challenge of Ukraine’s Denys Yurchenko, who topped out at 5.80 as well. In an effort to take the lead, the Ukrainian passed at 5.85 after his first miss, only to find 5.90 too daunting a task.

American Brad Walker was fourth with a 5.70 leap, finishing ahead of Ruslan Yeremenko, who arrived in Donetsk as the world leader after his 5.84 PB win in Stuttgart two weeks ago. The Ukrainian had only one successful leap, his first-attempt effort at 5.60. Passing at 5.70, he was knocked out at 5.80. Olympic silver medallist Toby Stevenson was a distant eighth, clearing jut 5.50 before bowing out at 5.70. “Some days you have it, some days you don’t,” said the animated Stevenson.

Never in the hunt

Nursing a minor injury, defending champion Giuseppe Gibilisco was never a factor in his first competition of the year. The reigning World champion and Olympic bronze medallist couldn’t manage better than his opening 5.40 effort. Throughout the competition, the Italian record holder was grimacing after each jump, reacting to a pain just above his right knee.

The best crowd

With the men’s and women’s event held simultaneously, the action was non-stop, the atmosphere high-charged and festive. Treated to a breathtaking pre-meet performance by dozens of colourfully attired folk dancers, the crowd’s enthusiasm never waned as the competition got underway. With a light show as a backdrop, the loud, high-powered music energized the spectators, leaving the two dozen competitors here unanimous in their review of the meeting, this weekend celebrating its 16th edition.

“This is probably the best crowd I’ve ever competed in front of,” Dragila said, echoing her fellow-competitors sentiments.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Results –

MEN:
1. Derek Miles, USA, 5.85, World leader, personal best
2. Igor Pavlov, RUS, 5.80
3. Denys Yurchenko, UKR, 5.80
4. Brad Walker, USA, 5.70
5. Ruslan Yeremenko, UKR, 5.60
6. Jeff Hartwig, USA, 5.60
7. Igor Alekseev, BLR, 5.60
8. Toby Stevenson, USA, 5.50
9. Przemyslaw Czerwinski, POL, 5.50
= 10. Lars Borgeling, GER, 5.50
= 10. Aleksandr Averbukh, ISR, 5.50
12. Giuseppe Gibilisco, ITA, 5.40

WOMEN:

1. Yelena Isinbayeva, RUS,
2. Anna Rogowska, POL, 4.75, national record
3. Monika Pyrek, POL, 4.70 personal best
= 4. Tatyana Polnova, RUS, 4.60
= 4. Carolina Hingst, GER, 4.60 personal best
6. Natalya Belinskaya, RUS, 4.50
7. Stacy Dragila, USA, 4.50
8. Gao Shuying, CHN, 4.40 (season’s best)
9. Natalya Kushch, UKR, 4.40 (season’s best)
10. Anzhela Balakhonova, UKR, 4.20
11. Anna Fitidou, CYP, 4.00
12. Lyudmila Vaylenko, UKR, 4.00

Pages related to this article
Disciplines
Loading...