In Спорт-Экспресс, Yuri Yuris wrote:10.07.2007Yelena ISINBAEVA: “I AM MY OWN MAIN COMPETITOR”After victorious appearances in the first “Golden League” stages in Oslo and Paris, pole vault world record holder Yelena Isinbaeva is the sole remaining representative of Russia in the struggle for the million dollar tournament jackpot.Our correspondent was well aware that Isinbaeva is located in Formia Italy, where she trains under Vitaly Petrov’s management, however on Sunday she persistently didn’t want to answer her telephone. Eventually Petrov was reached on his cell phone: “After Paris, where Lena overcame 4.91 on Friday, she got a well-deserved day off and, as far as I know, left for the beach. Ring her tomorrow at 12:30 in Moscow. You’ll be able to talk before she begins her training.”
I rang. We talked.
- How are things different for you this summer season from last?- Perhaps there’s more tension. The “Golden League” plus the world championships in Japan leave no place for starts which could at least be conditionally called “insignificant”. I mustn’t lose anywhere.
- What motivated you to focus on the “Golden League”? A great desire to become rich?- At its root you’ve posed the question incorrectly. The organizers of the “Golden League” only included the women’s pole vault in the program after they secured the guarantee of my participation, as though I am critical for the development of our event.
- Really, you’re completely uninterested in making off with the jackpot?- I’m interested, of course. Only doing this won’t be easy. Besides me, three more contenders remain in other disciplines, and for sure they’re not about to give up. Let’s see how it goes. I can smell the blood, but to just grab the jackpot – that won’t happen. The other matter is winning at every meet. This however is my usual aim.
- In Paris they say you were close to the world record, barely missing on your third attempt at 5.02. What happened?- My pole turned out to be too soft. At 4.91 it launched me, but at 5.02 it didn’t want to. Plus I wasn’t lucky with the weather: the wind was blowing in my face. So the stiffness of my pole on the third attempt wasn’t quite sufficient. Although the flight above the bar came out very well.
- I thought you already exchanged poles for more rigid this season...- Yes, but these, as it turns out, are still insufficient for the jumping technique I’m working on with Petrov.
- Probably this is the famous “Bubkinskaya” technique?- Exactly. I try to use – of course with correction for “female” heights – the model of Bubka’s jumps. Here the stiffness of the pole is fundamentally important. My jump has more momentum, is higher, I’d say, has more "flight" than it did earlier.
- How has your trainer evaluated your initial starts this summer season?- Vitaly Afanasevich feels that there are positive changes in the technical execution of my vault, that I’m feeling more confident in myself than last summer. True, sometimes in competition you forget, about technique, and generally about everything in the world but jumping over the bar! Here Petrov immediately intervenes, calling out “stay on task”.
- As before, you don’t sense competition from your rivals?- I do a bit: they gradually improve, so to avoid surprises, it’s always worth being on guard. Feofanova jumped well in Paris. The result of the American Stuczynski, who jumped 4.88 this season, must be respected. But nevertheless, I’ll consider my rivals seriously no earlier than when they reach the five-meter height. So far I’m still my own main competitor.
- Stuczynski’s 4.88 clearance doesn’t make you at all wary?- Not a bit. According to Petrov’s reckoning, this is her ceiling today. Already it’s high enough, but she’s still a long way from solidly mastering such heights. A lot of other jumpers are unstable. In this sense Feofanova appears better: one can consider her an example of stability and highly combative qualities.
- Where do you spend most of your time, in Monaco or Formia?- Monaco during the preparatory period, Formia in the competition season.
- When were you last home, in Volgograd?- Very long ago already – in March. That’s how it goes, such is an athlete’s life.
- Your relatives don’t visit you?- There are no obstacles, except one: it might hinder my preparation for the competitions, distract me from my main concern. Therefore it’s necessary to limit myself to telephone conversations with my parents and sister.
- By the way, did your sister and her husband finally make you “aunty Lena”, like you wished for long ago?- Oh yes! This happened quite recently – June 25th. Now I have a nephew Vanya: weight - 4 kg, height - 50 cm.
- Do you have any new hobbies other than collecting dolphin figurines and refrigerator magnets?- I’ve started to read more.
- Detective stories, probably?- No, I don’t have any special weakness for that trash. For the most part I prefer serious books - on philosophy, psychology.
- Do you want to somehow connect your life with these sciences in the future?- No, these are all for general development. In life, and especially in sports life, difficult situations very often come up, and the way out can be found precisely in such books. To use the example of people who already found themselves in a similar position and managed to get out with honor. Learning from the errors of others is always preferable to your own.
- All things considered, should we expect a world record at the third stage of the “Golden League” this Friday in Rome?- Can I leave this question unanswered? Because as soon as I start to talk about this theme, to make forecasts, then nothing comes out. I’ll say only that physically and psychologically I’m completely ready for this. It’s still “flying” weather for me...
- Your last winter season could be called a "sprint", and this summer a "distance race". Which is more comfortable?- I think the summer. In winter it was sometimes necessary to compete twice a week, sometimes I jumped against a background of fatigue. Now I don’t. There’s enough time between starts to recover both physically and psychologically. I don’t like to hurry at all. But now, alas, I must hurry: my training begins, and this is sacred.
It goes without saying that detaining the world record holder would not befit a correspondent for “SE”, but then it was possible to direct several questions to Vitaly Petrov.
- Was Isinbaeva’s break between the winter and summer seasons not very long?- Certainly not. Exactly 120 training sessions were packed into it, which is our usual inter-season total. On the other hand, this year’s summer for Lena will come out unusually long: almost four months. Therefore it’s very important to correctly distribute her energy.
- Other than the six “Golden League” meets and the world championships in Osaka, where else do you plan to appear?- At the World Finale which takes place in Stuttgart. But Lena will complete her season with two starts in the Far East - in Shanghai and South Korea. This will be something akin to zeroing in on the Beijing Olympics already.
- How do you grade her transition to the stiffer poles?- In my opinion everything is going normally. With each start Lena feels more confident with everything. It’s a shame that we haven’t had much luck with the weather so far. All three competitions in which she’s participated this summer have been accompanied by either rain or high wind.
The world record didn’t take place in Paris only because of the interference of the wind. Her jump was a lovely sight. Under normal weather conditions, I don’t doubt she would have cleared the height.
- What can you say about the Jenni Stuczynski, whose 4.88 jump this season is nearer than anyone else to Isinbaeva?- I’ve known of her a long time. She started in basketball, then moved to the pole vault. They called me two years ago and proposed looking into a possible collaboration. However, I wouldn’t ever begin to consult for Stuczynski – since after all, she’s a rival of Isinbaeva and, by the way, her contemporary.
[1] This year she’s already added 16 centimeters to last year's result, and I doubt whether she’ll go higher before the end of the season.
- What do you think, is Feofanova again capable, as in bygone times, of giving Isinbaeva competition?- I wouldn’t want to personally occupy myself with talking about Lena’s possible competitors. Other things are important for me: that Isinbaeva, like Bubka in his time, constantly holds her pursuers at a distance of 15-20 cm. If one of them reaches, let’s say, 4.90, Lena will jump 5.15 – 5.20.
[2] She’s ready for a serious fight, and so far her determination hasn’t waned. I’m confident this will remain.
- And finally - a question a little bit “off the topic”. What’s the story about the doping incident with your pupil, the Italian vaulter Giuseppe Gibilisco, who’s threatened with a long disqualification?- This story, you might say, has a beard.
[3] By law, the IAAF and WADA have absolutely no jurisdiction over Gibilisco in this case, as his tests never revealed any banned substances. The claims arose from a criminal police investigation. Three years ago, while investigating doping in cycling, one night the police searched the apartments of 135 athletes, primarily cyclists, and Gibilisco was lumped together with them.
- But he’s certainly not a cyclist!- It was sufficient that he’d consulted on the telephone with a "bicycle" doctor, who turned out to be mixed up in the doping scandal. The police obtained a wire tap warrant, and Gibilisco also turned out to be regarded as a suspect. Then all suspicions were removed from him and they laid the matter to rest. But now, in connection with the subsequent spiraling scandal among the bicycle racers, they’ve again reached the light of day.
- For what are they going to disqualify him?- It’s all the same - for the contact with this "suspicious" doctor. The Italian Olympic committee recommends a two-year disqualification for Gibilisco, but the national light athletics federation must ratify this verdict.
- You haven’t worked with him in a long time?- Not for the past year. When I made him the world champion, Giuseppe was like a son to me, but when I began to consult for other athletes, when Isinbaeva appeared, he began to get jealous. He couldn’t stand that I was giving my experience and knowledge to someone other than Gibilisco. That’s the story...
Yuri YURIS 
