High Five for Yelena

Yelena Isinbayeva kept her promise on Friday when she became the first woman pole vaulter to break the five metres barrier. The Olympic cham...

Yelena Isinbayeva kept her promise on Friday when she became the first woman pole vaulter to break the five metres barrier. The Olympic champion smashed her world record, sailing over the height on her first attempt to the delight of the 18,000 sell-out crowd at the London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace.

Isinbayeva said last year she was confident of breaching the mark.

8220;I don8217;t want to sound overconfident but I don8217;t think this five-metre barrier is something out of reach since I have been over five metres in training a couple of times already and I think it8217;s just a matter of time before I do it in competition,8221; Isinbayeva said in September.

It was just a matter of time but it still came sooner than expected.

Dubbed 8216;Sergei Bubka in a skirt8217; by the media in her native Russia because of her domination and habit of increasing the world record a centimetre at a time, Isinbayeva broke with tradition and added four to the best of 4.96 which she had set on her previous effort in Friday8217;s competition.

It was the former gymnast8217;s fourth world record of the month and her 17th in total since clearing 4.82 two years ago.

8220;It was my dream to be the first woman over five metres,8221; a delighted Isinbayeva said on Friday.

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8220;I can8217;t explain my feelings. I don8217;t know how much higher I can go, maybe 5.05 or higher.

I want to be Sergei Bubka and get there centimetre by centimetre because I am not a rich girl.
8212; Yelena Isinbayeva

8220;I would like to have 36 world records,8221; she said in reference to Bubka, who set 35 before retiring. 8220;It8217;s my new goal.8221;

Ukrainian Bubka broke the men8217;s record seemingly at will between 1984 and 1994. His outdoor mark of 6.14 metres and indoor one of 6.15 still stand.

Isinbayeva has always said that money 8212; she gets 50,000 for each new mark and an undisclosedfive-figure sum from the meeting8217;s sponsors 8212; has played a role in her strategy.

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8220;I want to be Sergei Bubka and get there centimetre by centimetre because I am not a rich girl,8221; she had once said.

But her performances are more than just money-driven. The dark-haired Volgograd native plays to the crowd, smiling and blowing kisses after successful vaults.

She delighted fans after last year8217;s Golden League meeting in Brussels by jumping on stage and singing her national anthem with the Black Sea Cossacks Choir.

A relatively new discipline in women8217;s athletics, Isinbayeva has taken the event to new heights since the first world record of 4.05 metres was set by China8217;s Sun Caiyun in 1992.

Last year, the Russian won the Olympic title after staring defeat in the face.In third place and in danger of being eliminated after failing at 4.70 and 4.75, Isinbayeva raised the bar to 4.80 which she cleared majestically. She went on to win gold with a then world record of 4.91.

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It is almost certain that she will add the world title to her triumphs next month in Helsinki.

Reuters