Long Isinbayeva Interview (she has bad eating habits!)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/9381648.stm


Pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva answers your questions

Pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva answers your questions.

Russia's Isinbayeva, who takes part in the World Olympic Dreams project on bbcrussian.com , has set 27 world records during her career and was the first woman to break the 5m mark.

Now 28 years old, she has won nine major titles, including Olympic gold in 2004 and 2008 and two world crowns. She was named Female Athlete of the Year by world athletics' governing body the IAAF in 2004, 2005 and 2008.

Last April, after a disappointing run of form, she announced an indefinite break from competition, but is expected to return to action this month.

She is now eyeing world titles in 2011 and 2013, another Olympic gold at London 2012, and a much bigger world record marker.

How would you compare your present level of fitness and preparation in advance of the 2012 Olympics to similar stages before your previous Olympic gold medal winning performances?
David Sanderson, UK

Yelena Isinbayeva: I would not compare myself now and in 2012 because I have to wait another one-and-a-half years before London. But of course, I'm going to be in a good shape because the Olympics are special and everyone will be in top shape. But I would say that now I'm stronger - stronger physically, mentally because of all the experience that I've got from the previous Olympics gives me the advantage. I know what is going to happen in 2012 and I'll be ready for the fight in the pole vault.

How do you keep yourself motivated when you are so far ahead of the opposition, and are there any more records on the horizon?
Paul Nicholson, England

YI: I try to get motivation from everywhere. The young generation of pole vaulters come to me and say 'Yelena, you are an idol for us, we want to be the same as you, tell us the secret of how to become such a great champion' - what more could I wish for? Of course, my family motivate me a lot. My nephew Ivan who is just three years old called me and said 'Yelena, you are the best, you are the champion! I love you!'.

Hi, I was wondering who you would see as your main competitor for the world championship. Do you think Anna Rogowska or Fabiana Murer pose a threat?
Will Mata, Great Britain

YI: My main competitor is myself. Every time I jump against myself. Because I know how high I can jump and there is always a competition between me and the field and me inside of me. And of course the bar, but I don't want to consider the bar a rival, I would say that she is my friend, she will be always on the top and she won't fall down.

Do you have any particular dream of how high you want to go in the pole vault?
Arun, UK

YI: Well, of course I have a particular goal, I know how high I want to jump but I wouldn't say it because I want to keep it inside of me. And when I achieve my goal I think everyone will see what it was.

Do you think that changing the way that world record prize money is awarded from each time the record is broken to each cm it is broken by would have a positive effect on your sport?
Kevin Elder, Canada

YI: Frankly speaking, I have not thought about that. If I break a record by 1cm, they will pay for each cm the record was broken by. When I jump 2cm or 4cm higher, I do not think about the money at all. For me it is more important to clear the height which I planned before. I am very happy that my first 5m in the open field I cleared in London and the first 5m indoors - in Donetsk. Those were the most important goals which I have achieved. Money is OK, but for me the number of records is very important. Of course I would love to set 36 world records or more [Ukranian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka set 35 world records]. After that it will be unimportant, I'll be aiming at clearing the height which I planned with the coach.

What is your earliest sporting memory, and when did you start taking part in athletics?
Rob Wallbank, UK

YI: I started training in gymnastics when I was five years old. When I was 15, my coach Alexander Lisovoy and his wife Marina passed me into the hands of my first pole jump coach Yevgeny Trofimov. After half a year, in 1998, I achieved my first big victory - at the World Junior Games in Moscow. I did not know anything, I did not know the rules and was only trying to do what I was told to do: jump, sit, rest, win - and I won. Everything was very simple. Later I started training with Vitaly Petrov and that was very different. That was another - grown-up - kind of sport.

How do you get into pole vaulting? It's a rather marginal sport here and one that, it seems due to the dangers involved, is never embraced at school level.
Sean, UK

YI: I must admit that our sport requires a lot of equipment. Unfortunately a person cannot just come, take a pole and jump. We need poles, pits, tracks, sprint shoes. In all athletics we are the most expensive sport. In Europe every standard athletics field is equipped with pits for pole jumping. By the way, in Britain there are also many athletics fields and many pits, and I think that training conditions there are excellent. I am a bit surprised that it is not a very popular sport in your country.

Apart from techniques, strategy, tactics, physical and moral training - what is the role of equipment in sports? For runners it is footwear, for swimmers - a swimming suit, and for you - the pole?
Olga Aleksandrovna, Russia

YI: It is very important because the pole is the main tool in our hands. And our hands are very sensitive. The pole "knows" if you put on an extra 100 grams, it understands if you feel good or bad. So equipment is a very serious business.

I started pole vault about six months ago and love it - when it goes right! What are the most important attributes I would need as a vaulter? And how do you look so graceful whilst breaking the WR time after time?
David, UK

YI: First of all a vaulter must have self-control. An athlete should not feel scared, but should have a strong self-preservation instinct. Before jumping an athlete should not think about where exactly he will land, instead he or she should think about how to jump. If I jump correctly, I will land correctly as well. Naturally, a vaulter should be physically strong and have equally strong legs, arms and body, because everything is interconnected. Naturally, you need to give-it-all, have strict schedules and control everything - like food and sleep. Like in the army, maybe even worse. Only then you can achieve results.

If you can, please describe your diet when you train actively and during the tournaments. What do you eat, how many calories, how you cook it?
Dmitry

YI: I don't eat breakfast, for lunch I eat everything that I want. It is mainly meat, fish and vegetables. And I don't eat anything after six o'clock in the afternoon. Sometimes during the day I let myself to eat some chocolate with a cup of tea - before the second training, because my normal food allowance is not enough. But you cannot keep yourself in shape otherwise. I am looking forward for taking some rest, but even then I cannot relax. If you eat so much as one little pancake, you have to run for an hour to get rid of it. I can stop restricting myself only when my career is over.

Please, tell us how much sleep do you get - including at the time of tournaments?
Andrei, Seversk

YI: The regime is very strict - I go to bed at 2300 and wake up at 0800. Especially when you grow up, you need more time to recover - it is very important. When you are 20, you can sleep less, but still feel refreshed. And in more mature - sporting - age you have to rest more.

My son lives in London. He is 14 years old. He adores pole vault and is training for two years during summer and winter holidays in Russia where my parents live. He spent every single day training in every single weather. But pole vault is so unpopular in UK. He needs to finish school. What shall we do?
Vlada Wood, London

YI: Of course, if he lives in UK and is training in Russia it's difficult. My priority always was the sport. I think right now he has to combine education and sport. But then once he finishes the school may be it's time to do the pole vault. For men it's fine to start professional pole vault at 17-18 years. Sport takes you all - 100 percent. You can't share yourself for two different things. It depends on him, not on his parents. If he would wish to continue sport he must move to Russia to a good coach. If not - he always can come back to UK and continue his education.

If you weren't a pole vaulter, what sport would you do - or would you do something completely different?
Alex, England

YI: When I was training in gymnastics, I was dreaming of going in for rhythmic gymnastics. I like splits, stretching, movement, gracefulness. I enjoy everything beautiful and aesthetic, especially when performed by young women. I also like to dance. But I think that without athletics I would not be able to achieve as much as I have achieved now. Many years ago I did not know anything about pole vaulting, but today I am very happy that I went into it and that everything is going so well.

How can you explain that many leading Russian sportsmen prepare for major international tournaments abroad - not in their own country?
Olga Aleksandrovna, Russia

YI: Each sportsman has to decide on this for themselves. It is possible to train in our country, but I'd say there is still room for improvement. If a sportsman goes abroad, perhaps it is because their coach lives there. That is the case with me. [My coach Vitaly Petrov] has been living in Italy for 20 years, and my agent is in Monte-Carlo. So I cannot be based in Russia all the time.

Many sportspeople leave Russia soon after finishing their careers. So they use their motherland just as means of making more money. What are you planning to do?
Aleksey Chumakov, Kaliningrad

YI: Of course, I see my future in Russia. I think I will be spending my time between Moscow, Volgograd and Monte-Carlo.

Several readers asked about 2014 Olympic Winter Olympics in Sochi and 2018 World Cup in Russia. You took part in the Russian presentation in Zurich last year - so what are your comments about that experience?

YI: I have to say that in 2013 Moscow will host the Athletics World Championships. I'm sure that Sochi Games will be the grandest winter Olympics of all time. You can have little doubt about that when you see how it is being prepared. And the 2018 World Cup will be an outstanding event too. I am sure that these three tournaments will change our country. It will be really beautiful - many stadia will be built, the infrastructure will be improved, Moscow and other cities will be planted with trees. Many changes will happen in my home city - Volgograd. I'd love to peek into the future now, and see how everything will have changed.

Do you know any foreign languages? How many languages can you speak?
Arman, Kazakhstan

YI: Apart from English, I speak Italian. I have been speaking it on a basic level for six years - because I am training in Italy. I can read Italian newspapers, but not books.

Who can be the next Isinbayeva when you will retire? Do you see anyone that can achieve what you have done so far?
Nill Corey, Mauritius

YI: In Singapore during the Youth Olympic Games I saw a lot of young ambitious people in the pole vault and some of them may become even better than myself. But now it's very difficult to say because our sport is very technical and those who are good in the youth sport don't always stay in the professional sport. But I hope there will be some and they will be from Russia.

Your name will be written in lights in the history of sports. The art of living and winning is based on the skill of looking ahead. Are you planning to start your own sports school?
Vyacheslav Beliy, Krasnodar

YI: Yes, I have thought about it, it is my dream to start a school. Maybe not even to manage it. I have a sponsor, and I have many friends, I'm sure they can help. It will be for the children, for our future. But I cannot be the coach myself. It is even more difficult to train, than to be a sportsman. Your head has to work around the clock. It is not for me, I have been restricting myself for all my life. And I don't feel that I can do it after I have finished with sport.

You are one of the most significant faces of modern sports in Russia. Have you ever considered a career in politics? Maybe you want to join a political party or take up an important position in sports?
Stanislav, Moscow

YI: To be honest with you, I have never thought about politics, because I don't know anything about it, I cannot take a balanced position here. I would like to engage in things that I do best. I know a thing or two about sports, perhaps I could work in sports policy. But I don't understand anything about the state. I would like to be useful where I am needed.

If a movie was made about your life, which actress would you like to play you?
Rod Reilly, USA

YI: Angelina Jolie. I simply adore her. Her birthday is on July 4 and mine is on July 3. I do not know her personally, but I watch her doing interviews, acting. She is extremely charismatic. I want to give her my best wishes.

Do you follow the Premier League and is there a team that you support here?
Alex, England

YI: I am not an expert in football. I watch football mostly during World Cups and European Championships and support our Russian team. Owing to Roman Abramovich, I know about Chelsea. They are the only club which I am nervous about and whom I wish well.

What are you main principles in life?
Zhazgul, Bishkek

YI: My principles are - to always be true to myself; to love and appreciate those around me; to do good. I believe that if you do good, it comes back to you - and if you do evil things, they come back to you twofold. Regardless of what position I have in life, or in society, I always remain accessible to the people.

[rainbowgirl28]

If you can, please describe your diet when you train actively and during the tournaments. What do you eat, how many calories, how you cook it?
Dmitry

YI: I don't eat breakfast, for lunch I eat everything that I want. It is mainly meat, fish and vegetables. And I don't eat anything after six o'clock in the afternoon. Sometimes during the day I let myself to eat some chocolate with a cup of tea - before the second training, because my normal food allowance is not enough. But you cannot keep yourself in shape otherwise. I am looking forward for taking some rest, but even then I cannot relax. If you eat so much as one little pancake, you have to run for an hour to get rid of it. I can stop restricting myself only when my career is over.

Skipping breakfast, she's probably eating her first meal between 10-noon... and then nothing after 6? That sounds TERRIBLE for your metabolism! No wonder she feels like she has to run for an hour to burn off one little pancake.

[Andy_C]

Would need more details on the amount of food between lunch and 6pm.

Though this sounds like some sort of hardcore bodybuilder competition diet for when they get crazy ripped but minus the diuretics!

I would assume she's probably taking in a lot of nutrients from some other source that doesn't have too much carbs or fat (ie. sports supplements). Somebody should have asked her what her favorite amino acid supplement is!

It really all depends on the details. But if the diet is as full-on as it comes across as in this interview she is most likely using a fairly large amount of supplements or else her muscles would just melt away from malnutrition atrophy.

Interesting though! I wonder how her diet varies through the season?

-Andrew

[achtungpv]

I think she embellishes the truth a bit in interviews. It makes a better story.

[Barto]

I think she embellishes the truth a bit in interviews. It makes a better story.

Very much agree. If her mouth is open, stop listening.

[slvr1969]

I think she embellishes the truth a bit in interviews. It makes a better story.

Very much agree. If her mouth is open, stop listening.

Very much agree TOO.