Elena Isinbaeva (center) at the Beijing Olympics
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Elena Isinbaeva Best Athlete in Europe
Elena Isinbaeva, the Russian pole-vaulter who holds 24 world records, has been proclaimed top female athlete in Europe in 2008 after overwhelming support in an Internet poll by the European Athletics Association. She was followed by Czech javelin thrower Barbora Spotakova and Belgian high jumper Tia Hellebaut. She will receive the official award in a ceremony in Amsterdam on October 18. Isinbaeva has been in the top three in the poll for the last five years and first won the award in 2005. Members of the association, fans and journalists take part in the poll.
Isinbaeva has rarely been defeated since beginning her pole vaulting career in 1997. Before winning the gold medal at the Athens Olympics, Isinbaeva won the Championship of Russia, the world youth championship in Chile and the European youth championship. In 2002, she received the silver medal in the European Championship in Munich. In 2004, she was the champion of the Olympics, the Van Damme Memorial in Belgium and the World Athletics Final in Monaco. In 2005, she participated in 15 competitions and took first place in all of them. She participated in 16 competitions in 2006, including the Championship of Europe and the World Cup.
“At the moment of the jump I feel like and actress,” she has said. She set a new record at the Beijing Olympics with a 5.05-m. jump.
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