Isi updates ...

[KirkB]

Perhaps her mention of "such an amoral act" was mis-translated? If the Russian word she used might have been more correctly translated to "such a risqué act" then maybe she wasn't that far out there? I would say Mesnil was risqué ... but not amoral.

I'm not protecting Isi ... I could care less what SHE thinks of Mesnil ... I'm just suggesting that she MIGHT have been misquoted.

Kirk

[BruceFlorman]

Perhaps her mention of "such an amoral act" was mis-translated? If the Russian word she used might have been more correctly translated to "such a risqué act" then maybe she wasn't that far out there? I would say Mesnil was risqué ... but not amoral.

I'm not protecting Isi ... I could care less what SHE thinks of Mesnil ... I'm just suggesting that she MIGHT have been misquoted.

Kirk

I can't vouch for the accuracy of the quotation, since I wasn't there for the interview. But I'm going to stand by my translation of "такого аморального поступка" from the original article (http://news.sport-express.ru/2009-07-03/309524). However, it is entirely possible that subtle nuances are lost in translation, and that a native Russian speaker would interpret the statement differently. If there are any native Russian speakers reading this, feel free to render an opinion.

[Pogo Stick]

Perhaps her mention of "such an amoral act" was mis-translated? If the Russian word she used might have been more correctly translated to "such a risqué act" then maybe she wasn't that far out there? I would say Mesnil was risqué ... but not amoral.

I'm not protecting Isi ... I could care less what SHE thinks of Mesnil ... I'm just suggesting that she MIGHT have been misquoted.

Kirk

I can't vouch for the accuracy of the quotation, since I wasn't there for the interview. But I'm going to stand by my translation of "такого аморального поступка" from the original article (http://news.sport-express.ru/2009-07-03/309524). However, it is entirely possible that subtle nuances are lost in translation, and that a native Russian speaker would interpret the statement differently. If there are any native Russian speakers reading this, feel free to render an opinion.

My 2 cents. I am not Russian, but my language and Russian share same roots and I am (partially) able to read Russian cyrilic alphabet. I woud translate "аморального" as amoral, but as Bruce said, only native Russian speaker has final word about meaning.

"Translation is always a treason, and as a Ming author observes, can at its best be only the reverse side of a brocade,--all the threads are there, but not the subtlety of colour or design." from The Book of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura

[BruceFlorman]

This same interview is posted in another thread here, but I like keeping a complete record of my lengthy translations in this thread too.

I wouldn’t be Isinbaeva if quit!
18.08.2009

Double Olympic champion and world record holder in the women’s pole vault, Yelena Isinbaeva, despite her failure in Berlin, found the strength to describe how she feels.

- Lena, can you recollect your feelings now, reconstruct the event?
- When I was lying for a long time, everything was fine. I mentally pictured how I would jump, how all would be normal. I got up and entered at 4 m 75 cm, and during my run, I hooked my left foot on my right as if to braid them, and I stumbled. I was simply surprised by this, because it had never happened to me. As if someone had specifically sat and bound my legs together. But there wasn’t time to stop and do my takeoff run over. Consequently, I blew off one attempt. Then I confidently decided to pass the second and third attempts from 4.75 to 4.80, which is commonplace for me. I had done this in Athens and on many occasions. I’ve easily jumped 4 80. This is an elementary height for me. Absolutely nothing to it. And again I didn’t make it – a little something with my left hand didn’t come out right.

- Like you were bewitched.
- Really, to me something otherworldly happened. I cannot describe it.

- And then your last hope was ruined.
- Yes. On my third attempt. I had a feeling about how I’d jump. I know myself, I know these feelings before a third attempt, when everything is concentrated inside. And when the bar fell, I thought: “My God, this can’t be. This isn’t me. I’m not here.” It seemed to me that I’d stand up, and it would turn out that I was mistaken, that I’d have one more attempt left, that I’d counted them wrong. But I stood up and realized that the “limit” had been reached.

- In those seconds, probably it was very frightening to sense the reality?
- Very frightening. I both understood and didn’t understand what had happened.

- What’s in your soul now?
- In my soul? It’s empty. And in my head, so far, nothing fits. How is it that in 27 years, after all the victories, all the records, I have done nothing for the world championships in Berlin? What’s more, I was fully focused on victory, and believed in my victory, because today everything was prepared in order to win. And not simply to win, but with a high result.

- What prevented it?
- At this moment I can’t analyze what went wrong. I have no answer for this question. In warm-ups I cleared the height of 4 70 without any problems.

- Maybe an emotional lapse?
- My whole point is that I haven’t had any psychological or emotional problems, or technical ones either. My injury is healed and my leg doesn’t bother me. Everything is excellent, there is nothing interfering. Apparently such is fate.

- Lena, even computers have failures, and you’re not made of iron.
- Everyone has now seen that I’m not a mechanical clockwork bear. It was time to lose. When you’re first all the time, and always breaking records, perhaps one begins to relax inside, to think it will go on that way, and you start to depend on it. Today I was hit on the head and it was made clear that you need to fully concentrate on the sport, not being distracted by anything else.

- And by what have you been distracted?
- You must understand! I’m a young girl. I’m not yet married, and naturally, I want a personal life, something else, a full life! Now I understand that I must devote my remaining four years to pole vaulting. I must be totally focused; the sport must occupy the first place in my life. Indeed, if you betray the sport, it will not forgive you.

- Maybe you burnt out while waiting for over an hour and a half?
- It’s definitely hard to lie down and wait; the other girls have already started to compete, and entered into this state. But I have to get myself started differently. This is hard. But over the past four years, I’ve gotten used to waiting.

- And was it a mistake to pass 4.65?
- No. Tactically I did everything right. I see no sense in trying to compete with the girls at that height. It would be humiliation to jump below my level. And passing two attempts from 4.75 to 4.80 was justified. For me it’s better to lose with a “baranka” (zero), than to win a medal jumping 4.65.

- By doing so, thus Rogowska improved?
- She didn’t improve. Her personal best is 4 m 86 cm. Today she was simply lucky that I lost.

- Perhaps it would have been worthwhile to skip the season?
- Vitaly Afanasevich and I thought about it, but I have some new sponsors, so it’s the first year I’ve worked with them. They greatly believe in me, and I greatly believe in them.

- But if you had not had sponsorship obligations?
- No, not the World Championships. Possibly other competitions.

- Every defeat is an opportunity to change oneself.
- Certainly my rise began after the very embarrassing loss to Svetlana Feofanova in the 2003 World Championships in Paris. After such an awful defeat today, I’ll analyze everything; reexamine my entire life for the remaining 3-4 years. I’ll draw the correct conclusions.

- Will you change your tactics after this defeat?
- No, I’ll press my rivals as usual.

- And no thoughts of quitting have flickered through your mind?
- I wouldn’t be Isinbaeva if I quit.

Valentina Krasnykh exclusively for Rusathletics.com

[Luka]

Can anyone translate what she was saying??
Please

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqi7c-wZbDc

[Luka]

Apparently she's very angry at someone.

[Pogo Stick]

http://www.iaaf.org/GLE09/news/newsid=54124.html

After Berlin defeat, Isinbayeva vows no more 'overconfidence' - ÅF Golden League
Yelena Isinbayeva at the pre-meet press conference in Zurich (Bob Ramsak)

Yelena Isinbayeva at the pre-meet press conference in Zurich (Bob Ramsak)
Zürich, Switzerland – On the eve of her first competition since her shock defeat at the World championships, Yelena Isinbayeva gave a blunt assessment about what precisely went wrong.

“The main mistake was that I was too confident, over confident,” the 27-year-old Russian said. It was an honest appraisal of why the two-time defending World and twice Olympic champion, who has set 26 World records in the Pole Vault, couldn’t manage to clear a height in the final in Berlin 10 days ago.

“I was a little overconfident,” she continued, likening her outing as just another day at the office. “I just thought that I would just take one more gold medal, and then I would easily do another world record.”

“When I went to the track, I didn’t feel like I was at a competition. My body was there, but my mind was absent. I was thinking about other things. Because I thought that that competition was going to be so easy for me. I knew that 4.80, 4.85 maximum would be enough for he victory. And of course, I would then try another world record. So I was so confident with myself that I lost a little bit of my concentration.”

But her shock defeat in Berlin isn’t something she wants to put behind her for good. Certainly not on Friday evening when her chase for the ÅF Golden League Jackpot resumes at Letzigrund Stadium where she’ll again take on Gold medallist Anna Rogowska of Poland and the co-silver medallists, Pole Monika Pyrek and American Chelsea Johnson.

Isinbayeva said that that feeling of defeat will remain with here for a long time, to remind her of the dangers of complacency.

“In one way it’s good because I have to feel these feelings just to improve myself,” she said. “Just to value all my competitions, and to value all the victories and world records. Because before Berlin, all my victories were just nothing special. I was there, it was not a surprise. It was like almost nothing. So I don’t want to forget these feelings.”

What she will be putting behind her are bold predictions of World records. Or, at the least, she’ll keep them to herself.

“Now I’m focusing first on the victory then on the world record. I don’t want to say anything before the competition anymore. I’d rather just say it on the field. Before, I was promising too much. Now I prefer to keep quiet, not to say anything, and keep everything inside. So, I’ll just focus on the victory first, then a personal best.”

Isinbayeva insists there was nothing wrong with her physically. She was in good shape coming into Berlin, and remains in good shape now. She went to her base in Monaco immediately after the competition to recover, unwind, and do some minimal training.

“It just wasn’t a good day for me. Now I’m great, in good form, in good shape, and look forward to having a good competition tomorrow.”

It may sound cliché, but in Isinbayeva’s eyes and mind, tomorrow will literally be a new day.

“So now I have to start everything again from the beginning,” she said. “I have to prove again who I am, and I have to be a little bit more careful. This defeat changed my mind a lot. It changed my priority. Now I value my sport more. I now feel that this defeat was necessary for my future.”

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.yelenaisinbaeva.com/en/news/ ... -to-zurich

26 Aug 2009
Yelena takes time out to discuss preparations for the Zurich Golden League:

When do you arrive in Zurich?
I am leaving Nice & Monaco today (26/08/09) for Zurich.

Are you OK fitness wise?
I am very focused and my fitness is fine. I had a good training sessions here in Monaco this past week and I am in good shape.

How are you feeling after Berlin, is it getting less painful?
Yes, I do my best to learn from my mistake and then move forward. As far as I am concerned, I am recovered from Berlin and looking forward to Zurich and the rest of the season.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/pu ... 2904.shtml

Yelena Isinbayeva gets the Prince of Asturias Award for Sport

By h.b. - Sep 2, 2009 - 11:15 AM

The Russian pole-vaulter, Yelena Isinbayeva - EFE

It comes after she broke the World Record just last Friday

The 27 year old Russian pole-vaulter, Yelena Isinbayeva, who broke the world record in Zurich last Friday with a vault of 5.06 metres, has been named the winner of this year’s Prince of Asturias Award for Sports.

The jury selected her from a list of finalists which included Roger Federer, Pau Gasol, the Spanish Synchronised Swimming Team and the Barcelona football team.

She will be presented with her award in a ceremony in the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo on October 23.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... S4xwkxKZQw

Pole-vaulter Isinbayeva aims to end on a high
(AFP) – 6 hours ago
MOSCOW — Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva said she was hoping to brush aside bitter memories of her failure at the world championships with a successful performance at the remaining top events this year.
"I feel dissatisfaction at my failure at the world championships," Isinbayeva told reporters on Thursday.
"That failure stimulates me to reach new heights. I want to completely erase all memories of that disappointment.
"There are three major events, including the Grand Prix final, left this season. And I really want to perform at my top there to finish the year with pleasant memories."
The two-time Olympic champion repeated her wish that her rivals could provide her with tougher opposition to increase the interest in pole vault competitions.
"I wish somebody among my rivals could perform at my level or maybe better," Isinbayeva said. "That would definitely increase public interest in the pole vault and, I believe, would take pole vault results to a new level."
The 27-year-old pole vaulter, who has already set 27 word records including her latest 5.06 metres performance on August 28 in Zurich, added that she had Sergei Bubka's world record-setting feats as one of her goals.
"It's impossible for a woman to compete with men directly," she said. "But I believe I'm capable of beating the legendary Bubka's mark of 35 world records before I finish."
Isinbayeva said that she was planning to compete at next February's "Russian Winter" tournament in Moscow adding that she was hoping to set up another world record at her home ground.
She added that she would quit her career after the World Athletics Championships in Moscow in 2013.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.yelenaisinbaeva.com/en/news/ ... for-yelena

Warm Chinese welcome for Yelena
30 Sep 2009
YELENA completed her 2009 season with a hugely successful trip to Shanghai.

After securing victory at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix meet, the Russian pole vault queen made a personal appearance at Li Ning’s flagship store in downtown Shanghai and then appeared on national Chinese TV.

Yelena, who has broken the world outdoor and indoor marks 27 times, made another valiant attempt at improving her own world record of 5.06m – set just a few weeks ago in Zurich – but failed to clear 5.07m.

However, she was a comfortable winner of the Golden Grand Prix meet with a jump of 4.85m, which beat her stadium record by 20cm. Poland’s Anna Rogowska was second with a 4.60m clearance with her compatriot Monika Pyrek third 10cms further back.

The following day, Yelena – a very popular personality in China following her gold medal and new world record (5.05m) at last year’s Beijing Olympics – and her legendary coach, Vitaly Petrov, held a training clinic at the China team’s Shanghai Xinzhuang training base.

Organised by Yelena’s Chinese sponsor, Li Ning, the event offered the opportunity for Chinese pole vaulters to learn from the master coach whose many elite charges have included Sergey Bubka, who broke the world record 35 times.

During the two-hour session, Petrov taught basic training techniques, explained how to identify young talent and answered questions from local coaches while Yelena put on a demonstration show for young Chinese athletes.

Petrov said: “I have watched Chinese athletes a lot of times and I think they are talented and have good techniques. However, their training period should be longer and the coaches should have more experience.”

About 20 Chinese coaches and athletes attended the clinic and the athletes were excited to communicate with their idols.

Athlete Li Ling of the national team said: “I’m very excited to train with (Isinbayeva) like this. Actually, some of her training methods are very much like ours, which confirms that our methods are all right.”

Yelena’s busy day continued with a personal appearance at the Li Ning store. She judged a contest where four to five-year-olds had to draw a picture connected with the 2010 World Expo to be held next year in Shanghai.

[rainbowgirl28]

Isi's Chinese website now up: http://www.isinbaeva.titan24.com/