MOSCOW: The old adage states it can be lonely at the top, but the desolation is starting to get to Olympic pole vault champion and world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva.

The 25-year-old Russian has bemoaned a lack of serious competition in her event, saying she needs a stronger challenge to enable her to realise her full potential.

"It's tough to break records on your own," she told media in an interview from the Italian town of Formia, where she does most of her training.

"Just like in any other sport you need serious rivals who would push you to greater heights."

She has been virtually unbeatable for the past three years, winning every major title on offer and drawing comparisons with the great Ukrainian men's pole vaulter Sergei Bubka.

Isinbayeva has long stated her desire to surpass his unbeaten tally of 35 world records.

She became the first woman to break the five-metre barrier in July 2005 before vaulting 5.01 at the world championships in Helsinki the following month.

Just over a year ago the bubbly Russian was well on track to break Bubka's mark as she set 20 world records, indoor and outdoor, in just two full seasons.

But she has struggled to maintain her record-breaking pace after dumping her long-time coach Yevgeny Trofimov at the end of 2005. She set just two indoor marks since her well-publicised move abroad to join Bubka's former coach Vitaly Petrov.

Tougher standards

"Of course, I'm a bit disappointed that I haven't been able to break records more often," said Monaco-based Isinbayeva.

"But like I said before, it's tough to break records when all the other competitors have long finished their attempts."

Isinbayeva also berated meet organisers for not setting tougher standards for all the competitors.

"Most girls set their initial height at around 3.70-3.80 metres. I wish they would all start with at least 4.30-4.40, so that I wouldn't have to wait for some three hours before taking my first attempts," she said.

"It's tough to just sit around not knowing when you should start your warm-up because you don't know how long it's going to take other girls to move the bar up to serious heights."

Isinbayeva said she is often forced to copy Bubka's tactics by using just three attempts in the entire competition.

"You make one vault just to warm-up, then wait for all the others to finish before making your next attempt. Usually it's the winning one for me. If everything goes well, then you try to break a record on your third attempt," she explained. "Of course, it's not always possible because of long waits between jumps."

Despite her recent shortcomings, Isinbayeva has no regrets about joining Petrov.

"Actually I feel that I've improved since I changed coaches. I've improved my technique and got stronger as well," she said.

"I'm not the young, naive girl that I was when I just started my career. I can make my own decisions now. I know what I need and what is good for me."

True potential

Petrov said his new pupil has plenty in reserve.

"I'm convinced that she has only scratched the surface of her true potential," the coach said.

"She is already using much stronger poles that only men could use and it gives her a lot of room for improvement. With proper training she could go as high as 5.10-5.15 or even 5.20."

Isinbayeva said she needed to set new goals for herself.

"This year I'm concentrating on the world championships (in Osaka) and also would like to win the jackpot," she said in reference to the $1 million prize for winning all six Golden League meetings this season.

"I won three of them (Oslo, Paris and Rome) so far, three more to go. Winning the $1 million bonus is always nice but money is not the main reason I'm competing," she said. "I make enough money now and can afford almost anything I want."

The Volgograd native, who won the prestigious Laureus award as the world's best female athlete last year and was voted the 2005 Athlete of the Year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), confirmed her desire to compete at least through to the 2012 Olympics in London.

"I've set myself some lofty targets for the next few years," she said, hinting that she would love to follow Bubka's path and take a role in public life after her athletics career was over.

"He is a big boss now, serves on the executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and he is also a great role model for me," said Isinbayeva, who was recently nominated for the IAAF athletes commission.

"Working for the IOC would be very interesting in the future, especially as they are now looking for more prominent women to join the Olympic movement," she added. "As I've said, I always need a challenge to push myself to new heights."

Agencies

(China Daily 08/01/2007 page19)