I
think that Isi actually will be competing indoors next February. The Russian press always makes a distinction between "official" and "commercial" competitions - where official meets are the ones when the athletes wear their national team uniforms, while at the commercial ones they wear their sponsor's unis. So I think the gist of Petrov's comments were just that she'd be passing on the Euro Indoor Champs in Torino (aka. Turin), and from Jennski's standpoint, it's a non-issue. Not being European, she wasn't gonna go up against Isi there anyway.
Nevertheless, the indoor record maybe is "soft" at the moment, and 4.96 - a 4cm PR - sure seems like it should be within Jenn's reach. I expect it would annoy the heck outta Isi, and stoke the fire under the "rivalry" story for the press.
Jenn probably ought to shoot for it in January though, since Isi
always breaks the indoor record in Donetsk, which is typically the second weekend in February. I believe Bubka has only been inviting the gals since '03, but Lena's six for six. Maybe even seven for six, since I think she broke it twice on the same day back in '03.
Do you know if Jenn has any plans to go to Donetsk herself? I'd think as the Oly silver medalist and #2 all-time, she wouldn't have any trouble getting the invite, but her European forays have, thus far, seemed a little bit tentative. The WIC last year in Valencia was the first time she's ever gone over during the indoor season, right? I’m sure the cost of getting there from New York is considerably higher than the other gals’ travel expenses, so maybe it’s just not cost-effective. But I’d sure like to see her going up against the rest of the A-listers more frequently. Just beating up on the other Americans doesn't seem to carry the same weight as kicking a few Russian (and Polish, and German, and French, and Spanish, and Slovakian) butts would.
