Pole vault, women

What to remember

On August 28, 2009, at the Weltklasse meeting in Zürich, Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva cleared 5.06 m in the pole vault, outdoors. She added one centimetre to her own record of 5.05 m from the year before. In pole vaulting, the athlete uses a long, flexible pole, usually made of fiberglass or carbon fiber, to jump over a bar.

The women's event is young: it has been a full Olympic medal event only since 2000, whereas men have vaulted at the Games since 1896. In 1999, American Stacy Dragila held the record with 4.60 m. Ten years later the bar had risen by 10%, up to the 5.06 m cleared in Zürich.

Born on June 3, 1982, Isinbayeva won Olympic gold in 2004 and 2008 and was world champion in 2005, 2007 and 2013. Counting Olympic, world and European titles, indoors and outdoors, she was a major champion on nine occasions. She retired from athletics in August 2016, after being elected to an 8-year term on the IOC's Athletes' Commission.