Feofanova vs. Isinbayeva
Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 12:38 pm
Rainbowgirl’s post of the European Championships results on Friday, showing Svetlana Feofanova winning at 4.75m (trailing only Jenn Suhr at 4.89 and Fabiana Murer at 4.85 in this year's rankings) caused me to wonder how Feofanova had fared, over the years, against compatriot Yelena Isinbayeva. Not the first time I had wondered, but this time I looked up some data on the comparison. I’ll share with you what I found.
When I checked my file of national records improvements, I found that Isinbayeva had bettered the Russian outdoor record 14 times, while Feofanova had improved the record 9 times and tied it another. On the indoor record, though, Feofanova has improved the record 14 times, while Isinbayeva 13. Interesting, because I had thought Isinbayeva even more successful indoors. There’s some possibility of error in this comparison, since I’ve accumulated the file as I learned of record changes over the years and might have missed some.
For a more comprehensive look at the comparison, I turned, as I almost always do, to Mirko Jalava’s website <tilastopaja.org>. There, in his biography section, he makes it possible in each vaulter’s bio to find a comprehensive summary of that vaulter’s meet placings against any other vaulter of your selection. Great!
For Feofanova vs. Isinbayeva, Mirko shows a total of 83 competitions from 1999 to 2010, with Isinbayeva placing higher in 50 of these, Feofanova in 31, and 2 tied. A slightly more detailed comparison, because all data seemed to reflect a sharp change in their competitions near the end of the 2003 season, indeed shows Feofanova placing higher, 27 to 10, in their contests from 1999 to 2003 and Isinbayeva higher, 40 to 4, in those from 2004 to the present.
Clearly, Isinbayeva holds an overall advantage. I think, though, that it is equally clear that Feofanova deserves plaudits for continuing her own vaulting aspirations and accomplishments despite losing her one-time position as her country’s leader. Her win over Isinbayeva in the 2010 World Indoor Championships was the first in over two years. Way to hang tough, Svetlana!
When I checked my file of national records improvements, I found that Isinbayeva had bettered the Russian outdoor record 14 times, while Feofanova had improved the record 9 times and tied it another. On the indoor record, though, Feofanova has improved the record 14 times, while Isinbayeva 13. Interesting, because I had thought Isinbayeva even more successful indoors. There’s some possibility of error in this comparison, since I’ve accumulated the file as I learned of record changes over the years and might have missed some.
For a more comprehensive look at the comparison, I turned, as I almost always do, to Mirko Jalava’s website <tilastopaja.org>. There, in his biography section, he makes it possible in each vaulter’s bio to find a comprehensive summary of that vaulter’s meet placings against any other vaulter of your selection. Great!
For Feofanova vs. Isinbayeva, Mirko shows a total of 83 competitions from 1999 to 2010, with Isinbayeva placing higher in 50 of these, Feofanova in 31, and 2 tied. A slightly more detailed comparison, because all data seemed to reflect a sharp change in their competitions near the end of the 2003 season, indeed shows Feofanova placing higher, 27 to 10, in their contests from 1999 to 2003 and Isinbayeva higher, 40 to 4, in those from 2004 to the present.
Clearly, Isinbayeva holds an overall advantage. I think, though, that it is equally clear that Feofanova deserves plaudits for continuing her own vaulting aspirations and accomplishments despite losing her one-time position as her country’s leader. Her win over Isinbayeva in the 2010 World Indoor Championships was the first in over two years. Way to hang tough, Svetlana!