Isi updates ...

[rainbowgirl28]

It's a slow time of year... I found this on a random person's blog:

also saw Yelena (Women's Pole Vault World Record Holder) in action there... she looks quire pretty but there is an irrtating guy (who happens to be Yelena's boyfriend) who sticks around her like a leech and instead of just carrying her bag for her.... he has to go everywhere HOLDING her hand just to show the world that HE is HER MAN!!! Actually come to think of it... i would probably have done the same... holding onto my GOLDMINE and never let her get out of my sight!!!

[BruceFlorman]

I live in Indiana now, but I grew up in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC, and while I haven’t lived there since 1983, my Mom still does.

Evidently every Wednesday the Washington Post runs a big advertising supplement by some foreign country’s bureau of tourism, and a week ago (9/24) it was Russia’s turn. That’s probably a bit ironic or unfortunate given the current political tensions, but I suppose these things are arranged months in advance.

Anyway, Mom is aware of – and I suppose rather amused by – my Isinfatuation, so she mailed me the Russian supplement because it contained a full page article about Yelena. It’s online now at “Russia Beyond the Headlines” (http://rbth.ru), but I’ll go ahead and copy it here.

It’s not a particularly great article from the perspective of a hardcore fan, but not bad for a big time large market newspaper.

Pole-vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva set her 24th world record during the Beijing Olympics

‘I do enjoy the solitude of success’

“It was my dream to win the Olympic gold with a world record,” Isinbayeva said after her sensational 5.05m vault. One of the most popular athletes in Beijing, the Chinese media called her the Pole Queen. This is what she says about herself: “I do enjoy the solitude of success”; and: “I feel I don’t have any limits but the sky.” Yelena is eager to catch up with her idol, pole-vaulter Sergei Bubka. Which means another 11 world records.
Lena (as she is known) was under great pressure before Beijing. She could not afford a setback of the kind the Russian team suffered in the first Olympic week – it would have discouraged everyone and, because of her status, it would have been seen as the entire team’s failure.

The pressure was too great even for this steeled athlete. I heard her on the telephone to a manager in the Olympic Village: “We’re on our way, my trainer and me. You know I hate being disturbed. Please do something.”

But nothing could be done – she was too popular.

Fellow athletes pestered her for autographs and snapshots. Fans were even more persistent. Responsibility balanced popularity – sports managers, the President, the Prime Minister and the nation demanded a world record of her.

The superstar of contemporary athletics, Isinbayeva has to win every event and set record after record to live up to her reputation.

She trains in Italy and Monaco and lives a nomadic life dashing between them with short trips home to Volgograd.

I asked her once what were her impressions of the Prince’s Palace. It turned out she had no idea there was a palace in Monaco – she had no time for a 20-minute uphill walk, let alone sightseeing.

She had never been to the beach, which attracts holidaymakers from the whole world, and never had a dip in the sea – not just this season, but really never. She rushes to her tiny flat for a nap after training, and back to training.

The attractive 26-year-old takes her asceticism for granted. Athletic success is short-lived, she says. But nshe does yearn for the good times she will have after leaving international sport.

In this interview, Lena spoke out for the first time. She had made it a point to conceal her plans before.

“I must stay in shape for the London Olympics,” she said.

So there’s another four years of sweating it out?

“I want to set another world record in London. I looked forward to Beijing and London records back in Athens. I thought I would quit sport after London.

“But then – Moscow will host world championships in 2013. Why not take part? I really enjoy it when the Russian anthem is played in my honour.”

Why did Lena cry on the podium in Beijing? It had been an easy victory, after all, in just two jumps.

“Easy, did you say? I can’t find words to describe my exertion. But I never show my feelings. I break records and win medals not for myself but for my country, and I take pride in what I do for Russia.”

She made 5.05m. Would she have been unhappy and frustrated if she hadn’t? And what does she think her ceiling is?

“I had to do it. I must live up to my reputation. As for my ceiling, I am not so sure. I thought it was 5.10 until Petrov said it was 5.15 or even 5.20. I believe my trainer.”

Lena shocked the athletic world two years ago when she left Yevgeny Trofimov of her native Volgograd for Vitaly Petrov, who trained the renowned Sergei Bubka. The embittered Trofimov said she needed no trainer at all after his schooling – a plumber would do just as well. I don’t think he was right.

Lena had a bad spell after she moved to Italy, where Petrov lived, and changed her technique. That was not a time for records. Some said she was past her prime, she should not have changed her trainer, and should not have moved abroad.

“See, I had come to the end of my tether. I needed new motivations,” says Lena. “I could no longer do anything without a shake-up. Records would come later.

“Setting records is a subtle thing. One must have everything at once – the mood, the weather, the pole, the pit and other things – all in a happy combination.”

She had her happy combination at last, and records came. Russia’s favourite justified her fans’ hopes in Beijing.

She dropped her mask of tough assurance for an instant at the Russian delegation office of the Olympic Village when she received a gift – her statue by an anonymous sculptor. When everyone else had gone and Lena and I were alone, she broke into laughter.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“Can one ever jump like this?” she asked.

“How?”

“See, when I jump I think about my boy. I dedicate my records to him.”

She always cuts me short me when I intrude into her privacy. That time, too, I dared ask her about that mysterious boy.

She stopped laughing abruptly.

“What does it matter? The only thing that matters is that there is a man I love.” -

Facts

Even though she lives abroad, Isinbayeva is a Russian military officer on active service – a senior lieutenant of the Railway Troops.

During important contests, Yelena whispers something before jumping – an incantation? When asked what she was whispering, she always has the same reply: “You just find the words to put the fight into you.”

After setting a record, she always calls home, and always with the same words: “Mum, Dad, hi! Hi, little sister! Hi, Kitty darling!” Her greatest frustration is that she cannot take her kitten away with her.

Moscow celebrated her latest world record with a fountain built in the city’s southeast. Its jet is 5.05m high, and the height will change with new records.

Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva is starting a fashion line in her name, and a perfume for which she has invented a name. Infatuated with the idea, she says her perfume will be for strong, resolute and purposeful women. She is looking for partners.

‘I thought I would quit after London. But then – Moscow will host world championships in 2013. Why not take part? I really enjoy it when the Russian anthem is played in my honour’

‘It was my cherished dream to win the Olympic gold with a world record,’ Yelena Isinbayeva said after her sensational 5.05m vault at Beijing.

When it appeared in the paper the headline was actually: Yelena Isinbayeva and the Thrill of Success

[slvr1969]

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[BruceFlorman]

I probably shouldn't post too many of these, but... what the heck.

Yelena Isinbayeva getting married?

In Volgograd the “Queen of Heights” appeared with a ring on her nameless finger

Yulia OREL — 06.10.2008

When Isinbaeva shouted into all the world’s TV cameras after her triumph in Beijing: “Artem, I love you!” a good portion of the male population let out a disappointed sigh - such beauty lost! Everyone then began to speculate about who this mysterious young man is …

A few days ago the athlete brought Artem to Volgograd. Lena decided to introduce her boyfriend at long last to her father, Gadzhi Gafarovich, and mother Natalia Petrovna. Little is yet known about Lena’s chosen one. They met not so long ago - 3-4 months.* He is a native of Donetsk, a few years younger than Lena, and is not generally involved in sports. He is a DJ. Thus far the young people live in different countries - she in Italy, he in Ukraine. The sportswoman doesn’t intend to move to Donetsk.

“I will most likely take Artemka to Formia,” she smiles.

In Lena’s hometown, along with Maxim Opalev, another of our Beijing heroes, she opened the Olympic champions’ lane on the central embankment.

Lena arrived together with Artem in the Peugeot which she bought right after Athens.** Artem was driving. The beauty literally fluttered out of the vehicle. She looked easy and stylish - trendy jeans, a bright jacket. But most of all she was colored by happy eyes and a smile that never left her face. Artem hid behind large dark sunglasses and acted with restraint. Clearly this fellow isn’t accustomed to such attention. But Lena reassured him with a smile. They were like teenagers, holding hands and never parting for a minute.

- Lena, how are you spending your time in Volgograd?

- There are a lot of public events. But I still picked out a gift for my dad. His birthday was October 1st, and I bought him a new Mitsubishi with my prize-money.

After the official congratulations Lena was surrounded by a crowd of children. And when she began handing out autographs, a ring with stones on the nameless finger of her right hand flashed in betrayal.

- Lena, you have such a nice ring – a gift from your beloved?

- Yes.

- Does this mean the wedding is soon?

- On this, as yet, no comment – the champion admitted with lowered eyes.

- Lena, it's time to leave, before these kids crush you now – Artem worried. He carefully took the beloved's hand and began to squeeze through the crowd. When they reached the car, he seated her and quickly rushed into the driver's seat. The young crowd finally made way for the signal. Meanwhile, those close to the sportswoman gossiped that a wedding must be close at hand. Otherwise, Lena with her characteristic secrecy, would not have introduced the suitor to her parents.

Lena didn’t even try to hide Artem’s gift…

20081006 KP.RU.jpg (60.46 KiB) Viewed 14299 times

For other photos about Yelena's visit to Volgograd, see our photo-gallery.
Photo: Valery EVENKOV

Today already Lena is leaving Volgograd. She intends to rest after her difficult season. She will have a long-awaited vacation together with Artem. But Lena didn’t say what exactly they would be doing. Who knows, maybe just preparing for the wedding? Even her coach Vitaly Petrov is already morally prepared, telling reporters that he doesn’t see Lena as just a slave to sport and he will be very happy if she marries and has a bunch of kids.

Chooses a suitor herself

The personal life of the talented and beautiful sportswoman is of great interest to her fans. A couple of years ago Lena was with a colleague, Igor Alekseev. They trained together in Volgograd under Yevgeny Trofimov. Igor is an international class master of sports in the pole vault. But the common interest did not help the children draw closer, and the romance which began so beautifully, ended quickly. Now Igor lives in Belarus, and has another girlfriend. After that, Isinbaeva went to her dad’s original homeland in Dagestan. In her father’s native village of Chuveke, challengers tried to stand out above all for hand and heart. But when our beauty arranged contests, none was able to carry out the tasks, and all left disappointed. But Lena finally smiled: “I’ll choose a suitor myself!”

*: I'm pretty confident that they've known each other a bit longer than 3-4 months. They may not have been an "item" all this time, but there's an entry in the guestbook on her website from "Artem in Donetsk" dated 02 March 2006. The response from her indicates that they'd probably met that winter when she and Petrov spent a couple of weeks training in Donetsk prior to her first indoor season apart from Trofimov.
**: Not that it matters, but she didn't buy the Pugeot. It was given to her by the Russian Olympic Committee in the winter of '04-'05. I remember because she said she had to store it in Moscow and then drive it down to Volgograd in the spring after the roads were clear.

From what I understand anyway, unlike the western tranditon, Russians do wear engagement rings and wedding bands on their right hands.

The article on KP.ru also has a one minute flash video, but she's just answering questions in Russian, and speaking much too quickly for me to pick out more than a few words. Sorry. If you want a real translation, you'll need to find a real translator.

[Lynxyara]

In flash video she thanked all peoples who voted for her at Europian Athlete of the Year poll. You already translated other answers: it is the same article about.

[slvr1969]

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[BruceFlorman]

I guess I've been asleep at the switch for the last couple of weeks. I hadn't realized that I've been neglecting my duties for so long. Maybe the Olympic season took a lot out of me as well.

11:49 09.10.2008 – Athletics
Yelena Isinbaeva to forego official meets in the 2009 winter season

Two-time Olympic champion and reigning world record holder in the women’s pole vault, Yelena Isinbaeva, will skip all official meets of the winter season in 2009, including the European Indoor Championships on March 6th-8th in Turin. Yelena Isinbaeva’s personal coach, the famous Ukrainian specialist Vitaly Petrov, reports this to the Agency of Sport Information "All Sport".

“The decision to skip all of the official meets this winter, where Lena would be obligated to win, was logical,” said Vitaly Petrov. “The Olympic season always takes a lot out of athletes, and for Isinbaeva this is doubly true because everyone expects not only victories but also world records. Therefore we decided to devote the winter to recovery and preparation for the summer season, where the primary meet will be the World Championships in Berlin. Of course Lena will certainly participate in some commercial meets - the usual February ‘Pole Vault Stars’ in Donetsk, for example. But she will just skip all the official tournaments, including the European Championships in Turin.”

Vitaly Petrov also added that Yelena Isinbaeva will only begin preparing for the season on November 15th. “I specifically gave Lena the opportunity for maximum relaxation so she’ll even begin to miss her poles. We’ll begin training on November 15th at her home in Monte Carlo, so she’ll be able to take care of some personal matters. But after two weeks, by December 1st, we’ll move to our base in Formia and start full workouts.”

[BruceFlorman]

Another step in Isi's modeling career...

November 2008 Cover

20081026 Glamour.ru cover.jpg (42.72 KiB) Viewed 13621 times

http://www.glamour.ru/glamour/new/

[BruceFlorman]

And if the modeling thing doesn't work out after hanging up her spikes, she just might have a future as a motivational speaker.

Yelena Isinbaeva, double Olympic pole vault champion: “I dream of a husband and children”

Vladimir KOZIN, Photos Vladimira VELENGURINA and Valeria EVENKOVA. — 21.10.2008

The Queen of heights describes her super-successful season and plans for the future

- Tell me Lena, did you ever think that you would have such regalia?

- I thought so. Since childhood I’ve dreamed of this. Probably since my earliest days in gymnastics I’ve wanted to be an Olympic champion.

- And why gymnastics?

- Because my parents put me into a gymnastics group, along with my younger sister. This was in Volgograd. Mom and Dad saw an ad in the newspaper recruiting girls for a gymnastics section. Our ages were appropriate, and the location was convenient. And so my mom brought my sister and me to this group.

- How old were you?

- Ten, maybe a little more.

- But why did you suddenly switch from gymnastics to the pole vault?

- Because I became too tall for gymnastics… There were two choices then - either go into acrobatics or pole vaulting. Vaulting was just beginning to be developed then, and Aleksandr Ivanovich Lisovoi, my coach for gymnastics, decided that I had a future with the pole. Had that not happened, I would have gone into acrobatics.

- Your first pole vault - what did this mean for your psychology, for your perception of yourself?

- It was quite easy for me to learn to pole vault. As if jumping into water.

- Beautiful girls take poles in their hands…

- This is a very aesthetic and feminine sport. Not everyone gets the pole vault. And if they get it, not everyone does it beautifully. So when it comes out high and beautiful, it’s the peak of perfection.

- Agreed. But did you realize right away that you would rise to such unprecedented heights?

- Probably the first time this thought came to me was when I won the World Youth Games in 1998 in Moscow.

- What was your result?

- I jumped 4 meters then. At that time I had a personal record of 4 meters 10 centimeters. But more importantly, it was my first significant victory after gymnastics. I thought: maybe I’ll be able to do something meaningful. But the full realization of my strengths came after the Olympic Games in Sydney, when I “baranka’d” there.*

- As far as I know, you were left without a coach there and simply folded…

- My coach wasn’t there because he didn’t have accreditation. He was traveling on a tourist pass. But I was only 18 years old and I simply didn’t understand anything, and failed to make the first height.

- At that time you never felt like throwing down the damned pole and quitting?

- No, not at all! On the contrary, when I didn’t make the initial height in Sydney and received the “baranka”, I was so glad: the competition was finally over for me. I’d been so uncomfortable. There were such stars all around, and I felt like an ugly duckling, a tiny insect in this gigantic arena. On the day of the finals, when all the people crowded into the stadium, I turned and left… for the zoo. Already an ambitious girl, I couldn’t watch someone else win and be stronger and smarter than me. Because I went there intending to take third place at least. Because my PR was 4.45 at the time, and the Olympic champion in Sydney jumped 4.60. So this was entirely realistic. It was then that I set the goal of becoming one of the greats.

- Sydney was a turning point in your sports fate?

- Yes, I grew up. I saw the stars, watched how our team leaders behaved… In Sydney, for example, the smorgasbord was a revelation for me. It was the first time in my life that I’d seen such a catering system, and it ran every hour, for sure. But many of our other adult athletes eat breakfast, lunch and dinner on this regime. And I didn’t understand how they could not eat. It was quite interesting…

- You’ve never had a fear of heights?

- Generally not. I can easily jump from the ten meter tower into the pool.

- Tell me Lena, was there ever a sign for you that you would become precisely who you are today?

- I think that I’ve been very lucky in life. First, because I’ve found my place in the sun, the precise sport where I can excel. And secondly, I’m grateful to Aleksandr Ivanovich Lisovoi, my original coach, for having me transferred to another coach, to vaulting, without avarice. Because many coaches behave in their own, rather than their people’s best interest. They say: I’ll just keep her here with me, and collect one more salary for her. But he wasn’t greedy, and instead sent me on the road of life.

- Major sport – this isn’t just about victories, but also pain and injury, psychological breakdowns, and so forth. Do you think about this?

- Certainly I think about it. I’ve had injuries, but God has mercy. I’ve only twisted a few ankles. I had more frequent injuries in gymnastics. I always listen to my body. If I feel pain or any twinges in my muscles, my coach and I will stop working or switch to a different group of muscles. Vitaly Afanasevich Petrov (incidentally, the former coach of Sergey Bubka) never drives me to injury.

- You’re not yet writing a book, like Sveta Korkina?

- No. But the project exists.

- When we presented the order “Sports Glory of Russia” to you, I asked what your dearest dream was. And you suddenly replied, in complete seriousness, that you wanted to ride on a dolphin…

- This was in 2004. I could only see Dolphins on TV - from where else in Volgograd? And then suddenly, out of the blue, a theatre with dolphins came to our town. I went and have been inspired by them ever since. I just fell in love! They are such nice, sincere animals. I wanted to stroke, to touch… And now twice I’ve swum with them. Granted, not in Russia.

- A dream come true. Is there yet another dream, a fresh one, as they say?

- Dreams, I’ve probably left behind in childhood. For me to get what I want, I have to brutally plow. So I don’t dream, but set goals for myself. When I reach one, I go on to the next.

- How do your parents feel about your success?

- Naturally they are happy. Dad is very proud. Only they say: take care of your health, because sport is not eternal, and you still have to have children. That’s what my mom always says.

- By the way, about children…

- …I don’t know. None are expected so far.

- Well, you were seen with a very impressive, albeit young, man in Volgograd…

- And what, I’m not alive? Of course I have a young man. I don't know yet when I’ll have a child. But I dream about having a husband and children… Just like normal people.

- Apparently, this is quite serious?

- Yes.

- And you, Lena, believe that luck has always been with you?

- I believe that everyone has it. Some take advantage of it, and some do not. Because the person lying on the sofa will never see luck, the lazy are never lucky. But the man who is seeking something, falls, gets back up, and overcomes himself – he is always lucky. He always gets what he wants. I think I’ve proven it. Because many who have known me since childhood say: Yes, Lena, you have achieved everything through your work.

* A "baranka" is something akin to a doughnut or bagel - a ring-shaped roll. But evidently Russian speakers use the term colloquially to mean a score of zero – much like English speakers use the term “goose egg”. I think when she’s said this in prior interviews, I’ve probably translated it to something more familiar to Americans, but she used it twice in close succession this time, and it just seemed easier to explain the meaning than to think up something that sounded natural but still remained true to the spirit of her words.

There’s a 3-minute flash video along with the article, but again my verbal familiarity with Russian is insufficient to do any sort of decent translation. I catch words and phrases - maybe one in four - but she’s just talking too dang fast for me at the moment. Maybe someone else can clue me in on what she's saying… this means you, Lynxyara.

[slvr1969]

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[slvr1969]

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[BruceFlorman]

I didn't notice these until just the other day, but there's a ~16-minute audio (English language) interview with Yelena on the IAAF website posted in four parts here:

• part 1
• part 2
• part 3
• part 4

Some folks may find a few things she had to say a bit inflammatory, but all in all I think it's pretty interesting. It's a little amusing that she so stridently asserts that jumping 5 meters in training is "impossible" given that she claimed to have done just that herself way back in '04... more than a year before she actually did it in competition. I'm sure there's a good explanation for that somewhere.