Isinbayeva targets mark of legends after record vault
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Your support makes all the difference.The Olympic pole vault champion, Yelena Isinbayeva, moved closer to becoming the first woman to clear five metres when setting another world record here late on Tuesday night.
After first-time clearances at 4.60 and 4.70 metres at the Super Grand Prix meeting, Isinbayeva then had the bar raised to the new record height of 4.93m.
Isinbayeva saw it remain intact after brushing it, as she added a centimetre to the mark she achieved in last August's Golden League event in Brussels.
The 23-year-old Russian, who earned a bonus of just under £15,000 plus a winner's purse of £5,700, has now broken seven indoor and outdoor world records.
Isinbayeva, who was making her first appearance of the summer season, has vowed she will clear five metres this year after achieving that height twice in training. "I thought that I would break the world record today. I was in good form," she said. "I have five more meets this year and I will try and beat the record every time. I will try to jump five metres this year," she added.
Isinbayeva said that the first woman to break the five-metre mark would be considered the female Sergei Bubka. "The woman who jumps this height first will be a legend," she said. "Five metres for women is the same as six metres for men."
Nathan Douglas is emerging as Britain's best triple jump prospect since the world record holder, Jonathan Edwards, retired two years ago. The 22-year-old Oxford City athlete finished fourth here, but raised his personal best to 17.27m. That was just the bonus Douglas needed before he tries to win a place in the British team for next month's World Championships at the trials in Manchester this weekend.
Phillips Idowu had a disappointing seasonal debut in Lausanne, finishing 10th with a best effort of only 16.34.
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