Isinbayeva 5m!!!

[rainbowgirl28]

I know Robby's dad lives in El Paso, so I would think most of his training has been in the US.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/4710775.stm

Raising the bar
By Sarah Holt


YELENA'S RECORD CHASE

4.82m Gateshead July 2003
4.86m Budapest March 2004
4.87m Gateshead June 2004
4.89m Birmingham July 2004
4.90m London July 2004
4.91m Athens August 2004
4.92m Brussels September 2004
4.93m Lausanne July 2005
4.95m Madrid July 2005
5.00m London July 2005
Isinbayeva sets historic new mark
Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva has become the first woman to soar over five metres in the pole vault - but just how great is the Russian's achievement?

Isinbayeva has taken women's pole vaulting to a new level since breaking the world record for the first time in Gateshead two years ago.

And breaking the 5m barrier is certainly a landmark but, because women's pole vault is still evolving, not everyone believes it is necessarily the major breakthrough it seems.

"It's difficult to rank Isinbayeva's achievement with events such as the first four-minute mile and the first sub-10 second 100m," says BBC Sport commentator Steve Cram.

"Those events have been around longer so we just don't have the comparisons."

The event is so new that athletics' governing body the IAAF only began accepting world records in 1995, when the first mark of 4.05m was set by China's Sun Caiyun.

By the time it was first included in the 2000 Olympics, American Stacy Dragila had soared more than half a metre higher, taking the gold medal at 4.60m.

The popular athletics coach for Idaho State University did much to widen the appeal of the sport, setting eight outdoor world records and becoming the first woman to go over 4.80m.


HISTORY OF THE POLE VAULT
Pole vaults were first used practically to jump over bogs and canals
Competitions were held by the ancient Greeks but modern events began around 1850
In the 1896 Olympics the men's record was set with a bamboo pole at 3.2m
Women's pole vaulting grew in the 1990s and was added to the Olympics in 2000
Ukranian Sergei Bubka holds the men's world record at 6.14m
Russian Yelena Isinbayeva holds the women's world record at 5m

But it was not long before Dragila herself was left behind, first by Russian Svetlana Feofanova and then her arch-rival Isinbayeva.

Each has brought new skills to the event.

While Dragila trained as a heptathlete before switching events, Feofanova was a former gymnast who brought valuable gravity-defying qualities to the pole vault, such as a natural ability to turn upside down in mid-air.

Isinbayeva, by contrast, has dedicated herself to the pole vault from the beginning of her career.

And allied to her incredible talent, she has introduced new levels of drive, determination, athleticism and professionalism.

Part of the secret of her success is said to be the mantra she chants to her pole just before she runs for take-off - although she will not reveal what she says.

Three years after the IAAF recognised the sport, Isinbayeva was taking part in her first major competition at the 1998 World Junior Championships aged 16.

In 1999 she won her first gold at the World Youth Games with a clearance of 4.10m.

And in 2004, she claimed her first major gold at the World Indoors with a world record-breaking mark of 4.86m.

Since her breakthrough two years ago, her rise to the 5m-mark has seemed irresistable.

Tempted by her coach Yevgeny Trofimov's gossip that she has regularly gone beyond 5m in training, the athletics world has watched and waited for the inevitable.


Isinbayeva has set her sights on surpassing Bubka's total of 35 world records

Cynics muttered Isinbayeva has inched her way to 5m because on each occasion she sets a new world mark she receives a $50,000 bonus.

They were half right as Isinbayeva admitted: "Money is always nice and the more the better but it's not the reason why I compete and try to break records.

"I chose to do it step by step. This way you have some suspense and it's more exciting for the audience."

So now the money is in the bank and the 5m-mark written into the record books, can we now expect Isinbayeva to advance the sport further?

"Isinbayeva's feat will go down as a landmark achievement because she is setting the standards others can aim at," says Cram.

"She is so much better than everybody else so she will go higher. And we should see a knock-on effect in a couple of years with other athletes doing the same.

"Sergei Bubka has said for a while that 5m should be the true benchmark for world-class women's pole vault and now Isinbayeva has made that a reality."

[Cpvault]

It still doesn't support the point SlickVT was trying to make. I believe the purpose of those posts was to illustrate (as DJ started), that Americans don't know how to coach/vault and something like "Americans have their head up their A?!@??". It seems to me that Toby, Tim Mack, Brad Walker, etc... have a pretty good idea what they're doing. And the last time I checked they were Americans, training in America, with American coaches I believe. Wow!!!!!!! They must be stealing Russian secrets????

[rainbowgirl28]

How many catastrophic injuries occur in pole vaulting in other countries?

I am also really concerned about women's development in this country. Whatever we are doing with the guys is not working for the girls. It seems like lately our women are becoming less and less competitive at the international level at both the junior and senior level.

I think it is important to look at the sport as a whole. Gold medals in the Olympics are awesome and amazing. But don't let the shiny medals fool you in to thinking we don't have any problems going on.

[dj]

sorry it sounds like i'm dissin' american men vaulters.. i'm not.. or our women..

coaches?? maaaaaybe .. but not all…

i think tim mack has jumped technically as well or better than anyone.. ever.. including bubka..

the problem i see as coaches is we seem to be missing why bubka ...and tim were successful.. and teaching in a way that we "can't get there from here'

it seems very evident with the women who got into this game years after the men had opportunities to work out some of the details..

we are "over" doing and getting away from the physics.. and basic pricipals..

the one thing agapit and i seemed to agree on is that the vault is a "chain" what seemed to be "amiss' was i know i can improve, correct and develop a more consistant and faster run... in any/all athletes...

this chain starts with the run.. and if as coaches we are not teaching the............
start, pole carry, body position and rhythme
that ISINBAYEVA demonstrates.... we are doing our athletes a disservice.

action/reaction... correct run...= the "chance" to have a correct plant... correct plant = the chance to swing properly.. yadda.yadda..which gives the vaulter the chance to jump high..

sorry I pissed you off…

dj

[Cpvault]

DJ,

You didn't piss me off. I'm simply presenting a viewpoint different from yours. I do agree with you in many ways (especially how you've explained it in the last post); although, you must look at the development of coaching technique in this country on a broader timeline. We were really in trouble in the late 80's and early to mid 90's. Coaching has since dramatically improved. During that time period we had some good vaulters, but not a lot of people who understood the pole vault (or at least an effecient technical understanding). I believe we are developing at a good rate since then; especially now that we have much more knowledge on how to properly coach technique. Bottom line is, all vaulters are going to look differently when they jump--nobody is technically perfect--we all have compensations. But, as a whole we are moving in the right direction.

As for Rainbowgirl's point about shiny medals and world rankings not be worth anything--then I say: what is the true measure of good vaulting? Does all of the American vaulters have to look technically perfect? Or, do they just need to jump high, win medals, and escalate in the world rankings? While the women's pole vault in the US might not be the best right now, you never know what is around the corner. As long as coaches keep trying to teach the correct fundamentals we'll eventually have a "crop" of good vaulters come up the line. Remember, the event is cyclical. A lot has to do with the athletes competing--I'm sure the knowledge they are receiving from coaches is fine.

[dj]

dj

[rainbowgirl28]

As for Rainbowgirl's point about shiny medals and world rankings not be worth anything--then I say: what is the true measure of good vaulting? Does all of the American vaulters have to look technically perfect? Or, do they just need to jump high, win medals, and escalate in the world rankings? While the women's pole vault in the US might not be the best right now, you never know what is around the corner. As long as coaches keep trying to teach the correct fundamentals we'll eventually have a "crop" of good vaulters come up the line. Remember, the event is cyclical. A lot has to do with the athletes competing--I'm sure the knowledge they are receiving from coaches is fine.

I didn't say the medals and world rankings don't mean anything, they are just not the whole story.

You never know what is around the corner with women's vaulting? The talent is out there for sure, but for some reason it is having trouble making it to the next level...

I don't think the event should have to be so cyclical. With the sheer numbers of vaulters in the US, there is no reason why we shouldn't have several men and women ranked in the top 10 in the world at both the junor and senior level every single year.

[Cpvault]

That's a bold statement to say that we should have several men and women in the top 10 world rankings. Remember, we are one country that pole vaults, out of many countries? There are only 10 spots in the top ten; if we have two or three that's a very good statistic! I think the main problem with the Pole vault, as well as, track and field in this country is the fact that no money is available for many of our developing athletes. I know for a fact that a former Gold medalist in the vault (US athlete) has been getting turned away from many of the European meets. This is a guy who has established himself. Now, think about the developing elite men and women in our country who get very little assistance, but then are expected to perform at the very highest level when championship years arrive. Again, I hardly think coaching is the culprit; and we know that the talent pool for athletes is deep. So, what's left?

[rainbowgirl28]

That's a bold statement to say that we should have several men and women in the top 10 world rankings. Remember, we are one country that pole vaults, out of many countries? There are only 10 spots in the top ten; if we have two or three that's a very good statistic! I think the main problem with the Pole vault, as well as, track and field in this country is the fact that no money is available for many of our developing athletes. I know for a fact that a former Gold medalist in the vault (US athlete) has been getting turned away from many of the European meets. This is a guy who has established himself. Now, think about the developing elite men and women in our country who get very little assistance, but then are expected to perform at the very highest level when championship years arrive. Again, I hardly think coaching is the culprit; and we know that the talent pool for athletes is deep. So, what's left?

Yeah 2 or 3 was around what I had in mind by several.

We are only one country out of many that pole vaults, but how many more participants do we have than all those other countries?

Think about it. I'm pretty sure we are one of the only countries in the world with a scholastic system that allows nearly every kid who wants to to participate.

I totally agree that we need to find a way to bridge the gap between the college level and the elite level. We are losing too many athletes because they can not afford to devote the time to training.

But here is some food for thought...

In the US, athletes have up to 11 years at the scholastic level (Junior high, high school, and college) where in many (not all) situations, coaching and most if not all equipment is paid for. The top athletes go to college and get a significant percentage of their expenses paid for. Our athletes graduate college and very few of them are ready to compete internationally.

Tell me again that coaching is not a problem? It is not our ONLY problem, but I think it is one of the biggest ones.

Look at the PRs of the rest of the 6 meter vaulters at the younger ages, vs the US vaulters http://www.polevaultpower.com/6mclub.php You can't blame that entirely on money.

[Cpvault]

Of course you can't blame everything on money. But, of those who have jumped 6 meters with very good PR's at a younger age are many times developed from that younger age with the goal of being a professional track athlete in mind. They are picked at a very young age to attend full time schools where they can develop their abilities. It takes money to fund those programs. Our scholastic programs are geared differently (less focused on a pariticular discipline). It's not normal for a 14 year old American who lives in Ohio (as an example) to move to Jonesboro and jump with Earl Bell full time. That's just not something we do. But, if a parent has the money and lives close to Earl Bell or Curran etc... that young athlete has all of the opportunity in the world to receive some of the best coaching in the world.
I still don't think that your statements prove that our coaching in the US is becoming a problem. Just because the women for instance are not a jumping at a level on the worlds stage that they were 2 years ago; it wouldn't really be accurate to state that the coaching is bad. Why did they do well just a couple of years ago? Is it possible for coaching knowledge to decline over time? I doubt anyone serious believes that all of the information we have available to us now, has only hurt our level of coaching. That doesn't seem possible.

[izzystikchik]

I hope you don't mind if i chime in, very good and entertaining conversation going on indeed here, but back to what the author says about saying:
""""It's difficult to rank Isinbayeva's achievement with events such as the first four-minute mile and the first sub-10 second 100m," says BBC Sport commentator Steve Cram."""""

Yelena is great, but women's pole vault is very YOUNG, i agree. Who knows, future generations and other nations will catch up and the playing field will be level. Unless yelena is truly a unique specimen, then i take back my words..

We american girls, though, shouldn't lose hope what so ever, i believe that russia/europe has had a slight head start on it, just look at who came up with the 6.04l/bubka-petrov model. Honestly though, i'm not worried about the american women, like i said to my friend earlier, there is a fresh new crop of women blossiming into the elite world (mary saxer perhaps as an example?)

I think we have yet to see women's pole vault at its best....