Bubka: Isinbayeva will return in top form

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 644269.cms

Isinbayeva will return in top form: Bubka
REUTERS, Sep 28, 2010, 06.19pm IST


BERLIN: Double Olympic pole vault champion and world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva will come back from a self-imposed break in top form and will quickly dominate her event again, former pole vaulter Sergei Bubka said.

Ukrainian Bubka, a former Olympic champion and still the men's world record holder, said Russian Isinbayeva should have taken a break before failing to medal in two consecutive world championships.

The 28-year-old Isinbayeva, Olympic champion in 2004 and 2008, decided in April to take an indefinite break after failing to win a medal at the March world indoor championships in Doha. She also embarrassingly failed to clear a height at last year's world outdoor championships in Berlin.

"She will be back at her best," Bubka said in an interview on Tuesday. "I don't see any problems or any obstacles. She competed for so many years, she is very professional, very committed."

His assessment will be welcomed by sponsors of Isinbayeva, who in 2009 signed a contract with Chinese sportswear manufacturer Li Ning for a reported $1.5 million a year over five years, a record amount for a track and field athlete.

Isinbayeva is planning her return in February at the Pole Vault Stars competition promoted by her role model Bubka in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk.

Bubka said the Russian should have taken a break earlier than she did.

"It would have been better to do the break before it happened but you are human," he said.

"It is the atmosphere you have, the pressure of you being a star, a lot of requests, a lot of sponsor appointments, a lot of things happening around you. She became tired.

"In this case you need to handle it very carefully and try to avoid such tiredness and when it happened, Yelena and her coach realised they should refresh. They know what they are doing."

After all, her coach Vitaly Petrov was also Bubka's mentor for some 15 years before the two split in 1990.