Russia's athletics icon Yelena Isinbayeva set a new indoor world pole vault record of five metres at the annual Bubka memorial tournament here on Sunday.
Russia's athletics icon Yelena Isinbayeva set a new indoor world pole vault record of five metres at the annual Bubka memorial tournament here on Sunday.
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The 26-year-old beat her previous record of 4.95m, which she achieved here last year, and it was the sixth time in as many years that she has set a new world record indoors in Donetsk.
Two-time Olympic champion Isinbayeva was trailing Brazilian Fabian Murer, who set a new South American record with a 4.81m vault, but managed to clear the 4.86m mark in her next attempt to assure herself top place.
Her next two attempts at 4.96m were unsuccessful, but on her third try she managed to clear 4.97m to set a new world record.
"It was just superstition," she said. "We decided for 4.97 instead of wasting another attempt on an unlucky number."
She then ordered the five-metre mark, which she managed to clear on her second attempt.
Isinbayeva said that her pre-meet game plan was to add two world records to her already bulging collection.
"We had in mind to first do 4.96 and then five metres," she said. "The reason is the atmosphere here. It's a very special competition and there are lots of special connections for me here."
Isinbayeva has two more competitions planned this winter - in Birmingham next weekend, and the Prague International on February 26.
Steve Hooker of Australia, the Olympic champion, won men's polevault with 5.92m, but still short of Sergei Bubka's 16-year-old world record of 6.15m.
It was Hooker's fourth victory in as many outings this winter, but his win came in dramatic circumstances.
Tired from a schedule that's taken him from New York and Boston to Paris and Donetsk in just two weeks, the Australian decided to pass on a warm-up, fearing fatigue.
He opened with a easy clearance at 5.62m, and decided to subsequently pass at 5.72m, 5.82m and 5.86, choosing instead to watch the competition unfold.
"I saw that the others were jumping well," he toldu00a0www.iaaf.orgu00a0
"The gap was almost too long but I thought it would be safer to wait."
After a pair of misses, Hooker produced a massive clearance to seal the victory before raising the bar to 6.16m, but he wasn't close.
"I've had so many competitions in just the past week that I'm really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed for a few days," Hooker said.
His European tour concludes in Stockholm later this week.
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