Abramovich lends a helping hand to Isinbayeva

"I know that Yelena had asked for help to fix an indoor arena in Volgograd, Balakhnichyov said.

Chelsa’s billionaire owner Roman Abramovich will help rebuild an indoor arena in Volgograd to enable Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva train in her home city,the countrys athletics chief has said. Valentin Balakhnichyov said the Olympic champion and world record holder met Abramovich in Zurich in December when they were part of Russias delegation bidding successfully to win the right to host the 2018 soccer World Cup.

I know that Yelena had asked for help to fix an indoor arena in Volgograd, Balakhnichyov said on Monday. The problem is it gets quite cold inside in the winter,making it very difficult to train. Also,the running track is quite old and needs to be replaced.

Abramovichs spokesman John Mann confirmed the report. Yes,its true that Yelena has approached Roman for help and talks are ongoing. Isinbayevas decision to return to Volgograd from her base in Italy should speed up the process, Balakhnichyov said.

I was quite surprised how smoothly the talks have gone. I know that Abramovich had already asked his people to find out what has to be done and how much it would cost, he said. Hopefully,the work could be completed over the summer.

Isinbayeva decided earlier this month to leave coach Vitaly Petrov and return to former mentor Yevgeny Trofimov following a series of poor performances in the last two years. Rebuilding the Volgograd arena should help not only Isinbayeva but all other athletes who train there, Balakhnichyov said. We have not one but three Olympic athletics champions in Volgograd Isinbayeva,(long and triple jumper) Tatyana Lebedeva and (high jumper) Yelena Slesarenko. Many others may follow in their footsteps, he said,adding that the sports ministry would share the cost. We also have athletes from local youth sports academy who regularly train there,so (the) ministry will also get involved.