Biography of Elena Isinbaeva
Elena Gadzhievna Isinbaeva is an athlete specializing in pole vaulting. The gymnast’s impressive list of achievements includes three Olympic medals: gold at the 2004 and 2008 Games and bronze at the 2012 Olympics. She also became the world champion in outdoor competitions three times and indoors four times.
Two-time Olympic champion Elena Isinbaeva
Throughout her career, she set 28 world records in women's pole vaulting. The last one – 5.06 m – is still not beaten. The World Academy of Sports Fame named Elena Isinbayeva “The Best Athlete on the Planet” in 2007 and 2009.
The athlete planned to retire after competing at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but she, like most Russian athletes, was not allowed to compete due to a doping scandal. On this sad note, Isinbayeva left big sports and took up social activities and raising children.
Personal life
Elena Isinbaeva is married to javelin thrower Nikita Petinov. They officially registered their relationship on December 12, 2014. And even earlier, the couple had a daughter, Eva. Isinbayeva kept her personal life secret from journalists for a long time. She even published a photo of her daughter only when she was one year old.
And it was after this that Elena announced her return to the sport. True, experts and coaches doubt that the athlete will be able to properly prepare for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. But this doesn’t stop Elena. She continues to train and only hopes to win.
Childhood
Elena Isinbaeva's parents come from the working class. Father, Gadzhi Gafanovich, a Tabasaran, moved from Dagestan to Volgograd, was a plumber. Mom, Natalya Petrovna, a native Russian, worked in one of the Volgograd boiler houses. Elena, born on June 3, 1982, and her sister, the same age, Inna, were brought up in modesty and severity.
Childhood photo of Elena Isinbaeva
Since childhood, the sisters have been involved in gymnastics at the Volgograd Sports School No. 5. This was her mother’s wish: in her youth, Natalya played basketball, but she was unable to connect her life with sports: she failed the exams at the Institute of Physical Education.
Young Lena (right) during classes at a sports school
Elena was 5 years old and Inna was 4 when they were first brought to a sports school. However, the younger sister eventually abandoned the sport. Now she is married to the artist of the famous Cirque du Soleil Mikhail Golev, so she lives most of the time in the USA.
Elena Isinbaeva with her parents and sister
In 1989, the girl was sent to a lyceum with a technical direction. In 1991, Isinbaeva began training with coach Alexander Lisovoy. At first he doubted her sports future, but when the girl ran around the hall, he was impressed by her plasticity and grace and decided to take her to the team. Over the years of their cooperation, Isinbayeva achieved the title of CCM in artistic gymnastics.
As a child, Elena Isinbaeva did gymnastics
From the sports school, Elena moved to the Olympic Reserve School, from where, at the age of 15, she was expelled with the mark “unpromising.” And again Lisovoy came to the rescue: after seeing pole vaulters perform on TV, he decided that it would be perfect for Isinbaeva, with her height and gymnastics training, to contact track and field coach Evgeniy Trofimov. In 2010, Elena gave her first coach a spacious three-room apartment in an elite building. “He did more for me than I did for him,” says the athlete.
Sports childhood and youth
Elena Isinbaeva’s hometown is Volgograd. His father, a native of Dagestan, Gadzhi Isinbaev, worked as a plumber, and his mother, Natalya Petrovna, worked in a boiler room. There were two girls in the family: Elena and her sister Inessa.
According to her mother, she raised her children in strictness and dreamed of a sports career for them. Therefore, at the insistence of her mother, at the age of 5, Elena was sent to the gymnastics section. 10 years of training and invested work did not pass without a trace; at the age of 15 she became a master of sports . But it so happened that the girl’s tall height became an obstacle to her gymnast’s career. Coach Alexander Lisovoy advised Isinbayeva to try her hand at athletics, namely pole vaulting. He recommended his colleague Evgeniy Trofimov to pay attention to the young athlete. So, at the age of 15, the gymnast switched to athletics and began to stubbornly and persistently move towards the Olympic podium. The apparent ease with which she now conquers incredible heights is, in fact, incredible work and daily exhausting training.
Elena Isinbaeva in childhood
After graduating from a lyceum with a technical focus, in 2000 the future famous jumper entered the Volgograd Academy of Physical Education. This was facilitated by her visit to the Olympic Reserve School.
Sports career
Under the mentorship of Trofimov, Isinbaeva trained until 2005 (and then from 2010 to 2013), receiving her first Olympic gold and winning 4 world championships. But the first serious victory of the jumper, who essentially started from scratch, was the 1998 World Youth Games, held at Luzhniki. At these competitions, the 16-year-old athlete showed a result of 4 meters.
Coach Evgeny Trofimov became Elena Isinbaeva’s second father
The following year, she won the World Athletics Championships (junior category) in Seville, increasing her result by 10 centimeters, thereby setting her first world record.
In 2000, Elena Isinbaeva became the World Junior Champion with a height of 4.20 meters. The year 2000 is also significant for Elena because this year the relatively new discipline “pole vault among women” was included in the Olympic program - this opened up new horizons for her. Alas, the 18-year-old athlete did not reach any heights.
Young Elena Isinbaeva is an example for all pole vaulters
In 2001, Elena took part in the European Junior Championships and again won with a score of 4.40 meters. Speaking in Berlin at the ISTAF International Festival, Isinbayeva again achieved a record height of 4.46 meters. Only in 2005 did the German Silke Spiegelburg beat these figures, taking 4.48 meters. Evening Urgant Visiting Ivan - Elena Isinbaeva In 2002, the European Championship brought Elena second place with a height of 4.55 meters. Isinbayeva lost the confrontation to her compatriot Svetlana Feofanova.
In 2003, Isinbayeva, with a height of 4.65 meters, again won gold at the European Championships in the age category up to 23 years. In July of the same year, the Athletics Games in Gateshead brought Isinbayeva a world record with a result of 4.82 meters. But the World Championships in Paris in the same 2003 added only bronze to her personal collection. The German Annike Becker won the gold, and Feofanova won the silver.
2004, Olympics in Athens: Isinbayeva set a new record
National fame came to Isinbayeva after the 2004 Athens Olympics. On August 24, she set a new world record – 4.91 m – and received the “gold” she deserved through her hard training.
In 2005, Isinbaeva moved to coach Vitaly Petrov, who once coached Russian jumper Sergei Bubka. During training, Bubka himself advised Isinbayeva. Together they also participated in the “Pole Stars” tournament in Donetsk. In 2005, the Atletissima 2005 Super Grand Prix tournament took place in Lausanne. Elena The height of the championship stood at 4.60 meters, taken by the American Stacey Dragila. Elena performed at the end: the warm-up height of 4.70 meters and the winning height of 4.93 meters were achieved flawlessly by her. On July 22, 2005, a pole vaulter reached a height of 5 meters for the first time. Of course, it was Isinbayeva. After this, the athlete told reporters that five meters was the norm for her and the optimal training limit. Three weeks later, Elena increased her record by 1 centimeter during the competition in Helsinki. In July 2008, at the stage of the Super Grand Prix series in Monaco, the athlete set a world record of 5.04 meters. During that period, she lived and trained in Monaco.
Elena and the new world record – 5.04
In 2008, the Summer Olympic Games were held in Beijing. Isinbayeva won gold and raised the record bar to 5.05 meters. World record of Elena Isinbaeva at the 2008 Olympics
Career
Elena Isinbaeva set one world record after another. In 2000, she jumped 4.20, and a year later she jumped 4.40. And each time a new height brought the athlete another gold medal in various competitions. The first serious misfire occurred only in 2003. It was the World Championships, it took place in Paris. Isinbayeva was then considered the favorite, but as a result she could only win bronze. Elena let another Russian Svetlana Feofanova and German Annike Becker go ahead.
In 2004, Isinbayeva won her first Olympic gold. And a year later, an equally significant event in my career occurred. Isinbayeva became the first to reach a height of 5 meters. In 2008, Elena once again celebrated her victory at the Olympics. At these competitions, the athlete set two new records at once. First she surpassed the Olympic achievement of 4.95 meters. And in the next attempt, the world value is 5.05 meters.
“Winning the Olympics gave me not only recognition, but also enough money. At 22, I was able to provide for my family. I bought my own car. And now I feel the need to share my experience with young athletes. I always say, if you work hard, you will live well.”
There was a period in Elena Isinbayeva’s career when she stopped winning. And the athlete took a break and left big sport for a year. But she still returned and began preparing for the 2012 Olympic Games. The long absence affected his form as a result. Elena was able to reach a height of 4.70 meters, but this was only enough for third place.
This was followed by another career break. This time it was associated with marriage and the desire to have a child. And only recently Elena Isinbaeva announced that she was returning to sports. But, as she herself admits, not for long. And just to perform at the Olympics in Brazil. After this, the athlete plans to finally leave.
Black line
In 2009, at the World Championships in Berlin, Elena was unable to achieve a single height in the final. Elena herself commented on her defeat with excessive self-confidence and a busy personal life, and maybe even a long stay in Monaco. Experts argued that Isinbayeva simply had no equal rivals left, and there was no one to spur her on to improve her own results.
World Championships in Berlin 2009: Elena did not take any heights
Because of the defeat in Berlin, she drew conclusions for herself and decided to concentrate only on sports. And at the 10th international tournament “Zepter - Pole Stars” Elena set heights of 4.97 and 5.00 meters.
In 2010, the World Indoor Athletics Championships brought disappointment to Russian fans - Isinbayeva was defeated. She announced a break, suspending participation in any competitions. She did not give up social activities, serving as ambassador to Singapore at the 2010 Youth Olympics.
At the gala meeting in honor of the 100th anniversary of the IAAF
Isinbayeva’s return became known in December 2010. The 2011 Russian Winter tournament was the first after a year-long pause, and the height achieved was 4.81 meters - the best result of the season all over the world.
The 2011 World Championships did not bring the Russian athlete medals or great results, but by that time Elena had learned to “tolerate defeat” and correctly assess the strength of her opponents. February 2012 was marked by a new world record for women's indoor pole vault - 5.01 meters. Isinbayeva’s fans had high hopes for the Summer Olympics in London, but the Russian woman with a score of 4.70 m became only third, losing first and second places to American jumper Jennifer Sur (4.75) and Cuban Yarisley Silva (4.75).
Olympics 2012: Elena Isinbaeva and other pole vault medalists
However, Isinbayeva herself called third place a success, given the failures that have plagued her over the past three years. She took the bronze medal as a sign from above, motivating her not to leave after the Olympics in London, as Elena had originally planned.
After this, the 30-year-old athlete seriously thought about motherhood and decided to take a break from her career, or even call it a day. But when in August of the same year, at the World Championships held in Moscow, Elena won gold by jumping to a height of 4.89 meters, she announced her likely participation in the next summer Olympics.
Isinbaeva’s jump at the 2013 World Cup in Moscow Evgeniy Trofimov claimed that during training in the spring of 2013, his ward managed to reach a height of 5.11 meters and that in the future she would be able to reach 5.20.
Highest sporting achievements
Since 2001, Elena’s athletic results have constantly improved, and she has won prizes and victories in competitions among adults. In 2002, at the European Championships, she took second place with a score of 4.55 m. She was only 20 years old and it became clear that outstanding achievements would soon await the athlete.
July 13, 2003 became a significant day for Isinbayeva. At competitions in Great Britain she set her first world record. She went on to set 27 more world records, more than any other woman in this type of athletics, while achieving many outstanding victories at the most prestigious competitions.
Very soon she began to be compared with Sergei Bubka, the famous pole vaulter who set 35 world records during his sports career. Elena even got the nickname “Bubka in a Skirt,” because their sporting destinies were so similar.
List of the most significant sporting achievements in the short biography of Elena Isinbaeva:
- July 13, 2003 - first world record in an open stadium (4.82 m);
- February 15, 2004 - first indoor world record (4.81 m);
- August 24, 2004 - “gold” at the Olympic Games in Athens with a world record (4.91 m);
- July 22, 2005 - the bar was overcome for the first time at a height of 5.00 m;
- August 18, 2008 - “gold” at the Olympic Games in Beijing with a world record (5.05 m);
- August 22, 2009 - last world record in an outdoor stadium (5.06);
- February 23, 2012 - last world indoor record (5.01);
- August 13, 2013 - victory at the World Championships in Moscow (4.89).
The circumstances so happened that the victory in Moscow turned out to be the last official appearance in international competitions for the two-time Olympic champion. Despite the fact that the results shown by Elena in her last competitions were far from record-breaking, she planned to return to the jumping sector and take part in the 2020 Olympic Games.
The ban on Russian track and field athletes from participating in the 2020 Olympics due to a doping scandal put an end to these plans, although Isinbayeva’s own reputation has always been impeccable. On August 19, 2020, the outstanding Russian athlete announced the end of her sports career.
Over 15 years in big-time sports, Isinbayeva set 28 world records, 15 of them in outdoor stadiums and 13 indoors. Isinbayeva’s latest record at an open stadium is valid and has not been broken by anyone to date. She is the first pole vaulter in history to reach a height of 5 meters.
Having participated in the Olympic Games four times, Isinbayeva won two gold and one bronze medals. In addition, she won seven world championships (three outdoors and four indoors), a World Cup winner, and two European champions.
Olympics in Rio. End of career
In the winter of 2020, a year and a half before the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Elena Isinbaeva, who during this time managed to give life to baby Eva, announced her return.
“I love the sport so much that it’s impossible to just quit,” she said, noting that 2016 will undoubtedly be her last year in the sport. But there was no beautiful ending. In fact, Elena’s last competition was the Russian Championship in Cheboksary, where the athlete demonstrated the best result in the world for the season - 4.90.
Photos from the Russian Championship in Cheboksary
In February 2020, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) suspended all Russian track and field athletes from participating in the upcoming Olympics due to a doping scandal, although neither WADA nor the IOC had any claims against Elena. Only Daria Klishina was allowed to represent Russian track and field athletes, since at that time she had lived and trained in the States for more than 3 years. Until recently, Elena hoped that the IAAF would change its attitude at least in relation to her. But at the opening of the Games in Rio de Janeiro there was neither Isinbayeva nor other track and field athletes from Russia. Neither the Court of Arbitration for Sport nor a direct appeal to the IAAF helped. “Gold” was taken by the Greek Ekaterini Stefanidi, who achieved a height of 4.85. On August 19, 2016, Isinbayeva completed her sports career. Elena Isinbayeva burst into tears at a meeting with Putin
Personal life of Elena Isinbaeva
Outside the sports arena, Elena has always been a very simple and sociable girl, not prone to shocking behavior. Even at the first Olympics in her life, she entered the stadium without makeup, with her hair carelessly tied up in a ponytail.
Elena Isinbaeva in her youth and now
Over the following years, the beautiful and charming athlete became a frequent guest on the pages of glossy magazines, and fans gave her the nickname “Queen.” Many men, world sports stars, dreamed of her, but her heart went to track and field athlete Nikita Petinov, master of sports in javelin throwing. Like Elena, he is a native of Volgograd. “He threw a spear right at Isinbayeva’s heart,” they joked on the Internet.
Elena met Nikita, then still quite a young man (Nikita is 8 years younger than her lover) in her hometown. But it was too early to talk about romantic relationships then. When she moved to Monaco, she often communicated with Nikita via the Internet. In 2011, she came to Volgograd - apparently, then the “everything is serious” phase began in their relationship.
Elena Isinbaeva and her husband Nikita Petinov at the Rio Olympics
The public learned about Nikita and Elena’s romance only when Elena could no longer hide her pregnancy. In an interview in 2013, she mentioned that she has a loved one with whom she has been together for three years and is making serious plans for the future. Journalists found out the name of the champion’s chosen one only at the beginning of 2014. Elena decided to give birth in Monaco. On June 28, 2014, the couple had a girl named Eva. On December 12, 2014, Elena and Nikita got married. The celebration took place in a fashionable restaurant in Volgograd, where more than a hundred guests gathered.
Photos from the wedding of Elena Isinbaeva and Nikita Petinov
When little Eva was three years old, her mother brought her “into the world”: they appeared together at the All-Russian athletics competition (Elena Isinbaeva Cup).
Elena Isinabeva with her daughter Eva
In August 2020, the athlete’s mother died. During the funeral, Elena was already carrying her second child under her heart. The boy, Isinbayeva’s second child, was born on February 14, 2018.
Elena Isinbaeva, pregnant with her second child
Elena Isinbaeva now
Having left big sport, Elena Gadzhievna still keeps her finger on the pulse of Russian sports life. A month after her loud statement, Vladimir Putin included the former jumper in the interdepartmental commission under the president dealing with the development of sports.
The former athlete continues her social activities.
In October 2020, Elena joined the jury of the TV show “Ice Age” along with Dmitry Kharatyan and Mikhail Galustyan. In December of the same year, she headed the supervisory board of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, but due to the dissatisfaction of the World Anti-Doping Agency, she resigned from her post in May 2020. “The head of RUSADA must be independent,” WADA said. On August 18, 2020, Elena joined the IOC Athletics Commission.
