Jelena Gadschijewna Isinbaeva wurde am 3. Juni 1982 in Wolgograd geboren. Ihr Vater, Gadschi Gafanowitsch, stammt aus dem dagestanischen Dorf Tschuwek, das in der Nähe von Derbent liegt. Ihre Mutter, Natalja Petrowna, wurde auf einem kleinen Hof unweit von Wolgograd geboren und zog später in die Stadt um.2 Fotos

In addition to Elena, there is also a younger sister in her family named Inessa.

From an early age, their parents encouraged both children to engage in sports. At first, it was gymnastics, but by the age of 15, Elena had grown too tall for this sport, so she switched to pole vaulting.

Elena’s rise to fame in Russian athletics was not smooth or easy. Starting late in her competitive career posed many challenges for her coach, Yevgeny Trofimov. However, already during her school years, Elena won the gold medal at the 1998 World Youth Games in Moscow. A year later, she became the junior world champion, and soon after, she began to set world records one after another.

Her greatest success came at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where she not only won the Olympic gold medal but also set a new world record in pole vaulting.

From then on, Elena Isinbayeva became a renowned and popular athlete both in her homeland and around the world. For a long time, only she managed to break the world records in this sport. A particularly triumphant achievement was when she cleared the 5-meter mark on July 22, 2005—becoming the first woman in the history of pole vaulting to do so.

At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Elena once again delivered a convincing performance. There, she became a two-time Olympic champion and set a new world record with a jump of 5 meters and 5 centimeters, her 24th world record in total.

Elena graduated from the Volgograd State Academy of Physical Culture and in 2010 obtained a degree in pedagogy.

As a Honored Master of Sports of Russia, two-time Olympic champion, and holder of 28 world records in women’s pole vaulting, Elena Isinbayeva has proven that someone from an ordinary family can achieve the greatest success in sports.

She was recognized as the World’s Best Athlete in 2007 and 2009 by the Laureus World Sports Academy, as the best female athlete of the decade by Track&Field News, and twice by the IAAF (in 2004, 2005, and 2008). She was also named Russia’s most successful active athlete.

One of the greatest athletes of her time, Elena Isinbayeva has received the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” Fourth Class and the Order of Honor, as well as the Prince of Asturias Award. She is also an Honorary Citizen of Donetsk.