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Comité International Olympique International Olympic Committee
Motto	Citius, Altius, Fortius
Formation	23 June 1894 (1894-06-23) (118 years ago)
Type	Sports federation
Headquarters	Lausanne, Switzerland
Membership	204 National Olympic Committees
Official languages	French, English, and host country's official language when necessary
President	Jacques Rogge
Website	www.Olympic.org

The seat of the IOC in Lausanne, Switzerland

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) (French: le Comité international olympique) is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president. Today its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic Committees (though Kuwait is suspended since 2010).

The IOC organizes the modern Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, held in Summer and Winter, every four years. The first Summer Olympics organized by the International Olympic Committee were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896; the first Winter Olympics were in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Until 1992, both Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year. After that year, however, the IOC shifted the Winter Olympics to the even years between Summer Games, to help space the planning of the two events two years apart from one another, and improve the financial balance of the IOC, which receives greater income on Olympic years. The first Summer Youth Olympics were in Singapore in 2010 and the first Winter Youth Olympics were held in Innsbruck in 2012.

Presentation[link]

1985 German Democratic Republic stamp

On 23 June 1894, the Olympic games were re-created as an international tournament by Pierre de Coubertin. The baron hoped to foster international communication and peace through the Olympic Games. The IOC is a parent organization intended to localize administration and authority for the Games, as well as to provide a single legal entity which owns copyrights, trademarks, and other intangible properties associated with the Olympic games. For example, the Olympic logos, the design of the Olympic flag, the motto, creed, and anthem are all owned and administered by the IOC. Data, as in the recording, broadcasting, reproduction, exploitation and anything relating to the organization is also the property of the IOC. There are other organizations which the IOC coordinates as well, which are collectively called the Olympic Movement. The IOC President is responsible for representing the IOC as a whole, and there are members of the IOC which represent the IOC in their respective countries.

Original members of the International Olympic Committee[link]

Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee and sometime President

Member	Country	From	Until	Notes
Mario Lucchesi-Palli	Italy	1894	1894
Demetrios Vikelas	22x20px Greece	1894	1897	President (1894–1896)
Arthur Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill	United Kingdom	1894	1898
Alexei de Butowski	Russian Empire	1894	1900
Leonard A. Cuff	New Zealand	1894	1905
Charles Herbert	United Kingdom	1894	1906
José Benjamín Zubiaur	Argentina	1894	1907
Ferenc Kemény	Austria-Hungary	1894	1907
Ernest Callot	France	1894	1913	Treasurer (1894–1895)
Viktor Balck	Norway-Sweden	1894	1921
William Milligan Sloane	United States	1894	1924
Baron Pierre de Coubertin	France	1894	1925	General Secretary (1894–1896), President (1896–1925)
Jiří Stanislav Guth-Jarkovský	Bohemia	1894	1943

Presidents[link]

No.	Name	Origin	Date of birth/death	Took office	Left office	Notes
1	Demetrius Vikelas	Greece	15 February 1835 – 20 July 1908	1894	1896
2	Pierre de Coubertin	France	1 January 1863 – 2 September 1937	1896	1925	Longest serving President (29 years).
—	Godefroy de Blonay (acting)	Switzerland	25 July 1869 – 14 February 1937	1916	1919
3	Henri de Baillet-Latour	Belgium	1 March 1876 – 6 January 1942	1925	1942	Died in office.
4	Johannes Sigfrid Edström	Sweden	21 November 1870 – 18 March 1964	1942	1952
5	Avery Brundage	United States	28 September 1887 – 8 May 1975	1952	1972	So far the only non-European member to hold the post.
6	Lord Killanin	Ireland	30 July 1914 – 25 April 1999	1972	1980
7	Juan Antonio Samaranch	Spain	17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010	1980	2001	Second longest serving President (21 years).
8	Jacques Rogge	Belgium	2 May 1942 – Present	2001	scheduled for 2013	Second Belgian to hold the post.

• source: [2]

Mission and role[link]

The stated mission of the IOC is to promote Olympism throughout the world and to lead the Olympic Movement."Olympic Charter". Mission and role of the IOC. International Olympic Committee. http://olympic-museum.de/charter/olympiccharter_febr2010.pdf. Retrieved 20 September 2011. 

The IOC's role is to:^[1]

1. Encourage and support the promotion of ethics in sport as well as education of youth through sport and to dedicate its efforts to ensuring that, in sport, the spirit of fair play prevails and violence is banned;
2. Encourage and support the organization, development and coordination of sport and sports competitions;
3. Ensure the regular celebration of the Olympic Games;
4. Cooperate with the competent public or private organizations and authorities in the endeavor to place sport at the service of humanity and thereby to promote peace;
5. Take action in order to strengthen the unity and to protect the independence of the Olympic Movement;
6. Act against any form of discrimination affecting the Olympic Movement;
7. Encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women;
8. Lead the fight against doping in sporting
9. Encourage and support measures protecting the health of athletes;
10. Oppose any political or commercial abuse of sport and athletes;
11. Encourage and support the efforts of sports organizations and public authorities to provide for the social and professional future of athletes;
12. Encourage and support the development of sport for all;
13. Encourage and support a responsible concern for environmental issues, to promote sustainable development in sport and to require that the Olympic Games are held accordingly;
14. Promote a positive legacy from the Olympic Games to the host cities and host countries;
15. Encourage and support initiatives blending sport with culture and education;
16. Encourage and support the activities of the International Olympic Academy (IOA) and other institutions which dedicate themselves to Olympic education.

Organization[link]

The IOC Session[link]

The IOC Session is the general meeting of the members of the IOC, held once a year in which each member has one vote. It is the IOC’s supreme organ and its decisions are final.

Extraordinary Sessions may be convened by the President or upon the written request of at least one third of the members.

Among others, the powers of the Session are:

• To adopt or amend the Olympic Charter.
• To elect the members of the IOC, the Honorary President and the honorary members.
• To elect the President, the Vice-Presidents and all other members of the IOC Executive Board.
• To elect the host city of the Olympic Games.

The IOC Executive Board[link]

The IOC Executive Board consists of the President, four Vice-Presidents and ten other members. All members of the IOC Executive Board are elected by the Session, in a secret ballot, by a majority of the votes cast. The IOC Executive Board assumes the general overall responsibility for the administration of the IOC and the management of its affairs.

The IOC Session elects, by secret ballot, the IOC President from among its members for a term of eight years renewable once for a term of four years. The current IOC President, Jacques Rogge, was re-elected for a second term that consists of four years on 9 October 2009.^[2] Former President Juan Antonio Samaranch has been elected Honorary President For Life.

Honours[link]

In addition to the Olympic medals for competitors, the IOC awards a number of other honours:

• the IOC President's Trophy is the highest sports award given to athletes who have excelled in their sport and had an extraordinary career and created a lasting impact on their sport.
• the Pierre de Coubertin medal is awarded to athletes who demonstrate a special spirit of sportsmanship in Olympic events
• the Olympic Cup is awarded to institutions or associations with a record of merit and integrity in actively developing the Olympic Movement
• the Olympic Order is awarded to individuals for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, and superseded the Olympic Certificate.

Museum[link]

Main article: The Olympic Museum

Publications[link]

The IOC publishes Olympic Review and Revue Olympique since 1894.^{[3][clarification needed]}

IOC members[link]

The first IOC, at the 1896 Athens Games

For most of its existence, the IOC was controlled by members who were co-opted, which means they were selected by other members. Countries that had hosted the Games were allowed two members, others one or none. When named, they became not representatives of their respective countries to the IOC, but rather the opposite, IOC members in their respective countries.

For a long time, members of royalty have been members of co-option, such as Prince Albert II of Monaco, as have former athletes. These last 10 years, the composition has evolved, in order to get a better representation of the sports world. Members seats have been allocated specifically to athletes, International Federations leaders and National Olympic Committees leaders.

There are currently 106 members of the IOC.

Membership[link]

The total number of IOC members may not exceed 115. Each member of the IOC is elected for a term of eight years and may be re-elected for one or several further terms.

1. A majority of members whose memberships are not linked to any specific function or office; their total number may not exceed 70; there may be no more than one such member national of any given country;
2. Active athletes, the total number of whom may not exceed 15, elected for eight years by their peers during the Olympic Games;
3. Presidents or persons holding an executive or senior leadership position within IFs, associations of IFs or other organizations recognized by the IOC, the total number of whom may not exceed 15;
4. Presidents or persons holding an executive or senior leadership position within NOCs, or world or continental associations of NOCs, the total number of whom may not exceed 15; there may be no more than one such member national of any given country within the IOC.

Cessation of membership[link]

The membership of IOC members ceases in the following circumstances:^[4]

1. Resignation: any IOC member may cease their membership at any time by delivering his written resignation to the President.
2. Non re-election: any IOC member ceases to be a member without further formality if they are not re-elected.
3. Age limit: any IOC member ceases to be a member at the end of the calendar year during which they reach the age of 80.
4. Failure to attend Sessions or take active part in IOC work for two consecutive years.
5. Transfer of domicile or of main center of interests to a country other than the country which was theirs at the time of their election.
6. Members elected as active athletes cease to be a member upon ceasing to be a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission.
7. Presidents and individuals holding an executive or senior leadership position within NOCs, world or continental associations of NOCs, IFs or associations of IFs or other organizations recognized by the IOC cease to be a member upon ceasing to exercise the function they were exercising at the time of their election.
8. Expulsion: an IOC member may be expelled by decision of the Session if such member has betrayed their oath or if the Session considers that such member has neglected or knowingly jeopardized the interests of the IOC or acted in a way which is unworthy of the IOC.

Olympic marketing[link]

In the early 1980s, the Olympics were on the verge of bankruptcy when the IOC drafted a team to help market the event and the organization.^[5] In 1998, one of the members of that team, Michael Payne, became the first marketing director of the IOC.^[5][6] During his 20 years with the IOC,^[5] Payne created a multi-billion dollar marketing program for the organization which turned the Games around financially.^[7][8][9]

Revenue[link]

The Olympic Movement generates revenue through five major programs. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) manages broadcast partnerships and the TOP worldwide sponsorship program. The Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) manage domestic sponsorship, ticketing and licensing programs within the host country under the direction of the IOC. The Olympic Movement generated a total of more than US$4 billion, €2.5 billion in revenue during the most recent Olympic quadrennium (2001–2004).

Revenue distribution[link]

The IOC distributes some of Olympic marketing revenue to organizations throughout the Olympic Movement to support the staging of the Olympic Games and to promote the worldwide development of sport. The IOC retains approximately 8% of Olympic marketing revenue for the operational and administrative costs of governing the Olympic Movement.

The Organizing Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs)[link]

The IOC provides TOP program contributions and Olympic broadcast revenue to the OCOGs to support the staging of the Olympic Games and Olympic Winter Games:

• TOP Program Revenue to OCOGs; the two OCOGs of each Olympic quadrennium generally share approximately 50% of TOP program revenue and value-in-kind contributions, with approximately 30% provided to the summer OCOG and 20% provided to the winter OCOG.
• Broadcast Revenue to OCOGs; the IOC contributes 49% of the Olympic broadcast revenue for each Games to the OCOG. During the 2001–2004 Olympic quadrennium, the Salt Lake 2002 Organizing Committee received US$443 million, €395 million in broadcast revenue from the IOC, and the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee received US$732 million, €690 million.
• Domestic Program Revenue to OCOGs; the OCOGs generate substantial revenue from the domestic marketing programs that they manage within the host country, including domestic sponsorship, ticketing and licensing.

National Olympic Committees (NOCs)[link]

The NOCs receive financial support for the training and development of Olympic teams, Olympic athletes and Olympic hopefuls. The IOC distributes TOP program revenue to each of the NOCs throughout the world. The IOC also contributes Olympic broadcast revenue to Olympic Solidarity, an IOC organization that provides financial support to NOCs with the greatest need.

The continued success of the TOP program and Olympic broadcast agreements has enabled the IOC to provide increased support for the NOCs with each Olympic quadrennium. The IOC provided approximately US$318.5 million to NOCs for the 2001–2004 quadrennium.

International Olympic Sports Federations (IFs)[link]

The IOC is now the largest single revenue source for the majority of IFs, with its contributions of Olympic broadcast revenue that assist the IFs in the development of their respective sports worldwide. The IOC provides financial support from Olympic broadcast revenue to the 28 IFs of Olympic summer sports and the seven IFs of Olympic winter sports after the completion of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Winter Games, respectively.

The continually increasing value of Olympic broadcast partnership has enabled the IOC to deliver substantially increased financial support to the IFs with each successive Games. The seven winter sports IFs shared US$85.8 million, €75 million in Salt Lake 2002 broadcast revenue. The contribution to the 28 summer sports IFs from Athens 2004 broadcast revenue has not yet been determined, but the contribution is expected to mark a significant increase over the US$190 million, €150 million that the IOC provided to the summer IFs following Sydney 2000.

Other organizations[link]

The IOC contributes Olympic marketing revenue to the programs of various recognized international sports organizations, including the International Paralympic Committee, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Bidding to host the games[link]

Countries bidding to host the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games compete aggressively to have their bid accepted by the IOC. The IOC members, representing most of the member countries, vote to decide where the Games will take place. Members from countries which have cities bidding to host the games are excluded from the voting process, up until the point where their city drops out of the contest.

In recent years, the contest for the right to host the games has grown increasingly fierce and controversial. Allegations were leveled after the 1996 Olympics that Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) organizers bribed members of the IOC to obtain the Olympic Games. However, ACOG documents were destroyed prior to a formal inquiry and the allegations remain unproven. In his defense, ACOG Chairman Billy Payne said "Atlanta's bidding effort included excessive actions, even thought processes, that today seem inappropriate but, at the time, reflected the prevailing practices in the selection process and an extremely competitive environment". In 2002, Salt Lake City was involved in a bribery scandal but earlier stories, reported by British journalists Vyv Simson and Andrew Jennings,^[10] date back decades. Corruption in the IOC has been documented by numerous investigations. After the Salt Lake City scandal in which a number of IOC members were expelled following an extensive investigation, efforts were made to clamp down on abuses of the bid city process. More stringent rules were introduced and an advisory board of recently retired former athletes was set up. Critics of the organization believe more fundamental reform is required, for instance replacing the self-perpetuating system of delegate selection with a more democratic process.

Even legal attempts to sway the IOC to accept a city's bid can spark controversy, such as Beijing's successful bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. Several human rights organizations spoke out against the poor human rights condition of China, in conflict with the Olympic Charter of the IOC.^[11]

In an August 2007 interview on the Beijing 2008 website, IOC President Jacques Rogge said, the IOC "definitely would love to see the continents that have not yet organized the Games like Africa or Latin America do that in the future. I cannot tell you exactly when, but I will see it in my life... We believe in the near future we can determine the host country under this rotating system. As of now, we haven't set a timetable for starting this system".^[12] Rogge also said that he would like the IOC to give chance for the games to be held in Third World nations like Haiti, Cambodia, and Cameroon within 2020 and beyond.^[12]

Controversies[link]

This section requires expansion.

Salt Lake Bid Scandal[link]

A scandal broke on 10 December 1998, when Swiss IOC member Marc Hodler, head of the coordination committee overseeing the organization of the 2002 games, announced that several members of the IOC had taken bribes. Soon four independent investigations were underway: by the IOC, the USOC, the SLOC, and the United States Department of Justice.

Before any of the investigations could even get under way both Welch and Johnson resigned their posts as the head of the SLOC. Many others soon followed. The Department of Justice filed charges against the two: fifteen charges of bribery and fraud. Johnson and Welch were eventually acquitted of all criminal charges in December 2003.

As a result of the investigation ten members of the IOC were expelled and another ten were sanctioned.^[13] This was the first expulsion or sanction for corruption in the more than a century the IOC had existed. Although nothing strictly illegal had been done, it was felt that the acceptance of the gifts was morally dubious. Stricter rules were adopted for future bids and ceilings were put into place as to how much IOC members could accept from bid cities. Additionally new term and age limits were put into place for IOC membership, and fifteen former Olympic athletes were added to the committee.

In 2006, a report ordered by the Nagano region's governor said the Japanese city provided millions of dollars in an "illegitimate and excessive level of hospitality" to IOC members, including $4.4 million spent on entertainment alone.^[14]

International groups attempted to pressure the IOC to reject Beijing's bid in protest of the state of human rights in the People's Republic of China. One Chinese dissident who expressed similar sentiments was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison for calling on the IOC to do just that at the same time that IOC inspectors were touring the city.^[15] Amnesty International expressed concern in 2006 regarding the Olympic Games to be held in China in 2008, likewise expressing concerns over the human rights situation. The second principle in the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, Olympic Charter states that The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.^[16] Amnesty International considers the policies and practices of the People's Republic as failing to meet that principle, and urged the IOC to press China to immediately enact human rights reform.^[17]

In August 2008, the IOC issued DMCA take down notices on Tibetan Protest videos of the Beijing Olympics hosted on YouTube.^[18] YouTube and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) both pushed back against the IOC, which then withdrew their complaint.

In 2010, the International Olympic Committee was nominated for the Public Eye Awards. This award seeks to present "shame-on-you-awards to the nastiest corporate players of the year".^[19]

Women's ski jumping[link]

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics saw controversy surrounding women's ski jumping. Ski jumping is the last remaining Olympic sport that bars women from competing. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says the exclusion of women is not discrimination. President Jacques Rogge has insisted that the decision "was made strictly on a technical basis, and absolutely not on gender grounds." But female would-be Olympic competitors say they do not understand what that "technical basis" is and wonder if he was referring to their abilities. They point to American Lindsey Van, who holds the world record for the single longest jump by anyone, male or female. Ironically, she broke the record flying from a jump built at Whistler for the Vancouver Olympics. They argued the numbers of top-level women ski jumpers are satisfactory too. When the IOC voted in 2006 not to add women's ski jumping, 83 competitors from 14 nations jumped at the top level, less universality than required to add a new event. But in the same year, women's ski cross claimed just 30 skiers from 11 nations. The committee added it.^[20]

See also[link]

• Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF)
• Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF)
• Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF)
• International Paralympic Committee
• International Academy of Sport Science and Technology (AISTS)
• SportAccord

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Chappelet, Jean-Loup; Brenda Kübler-Mabbott (2008). International Olympic Committee and the Olympic system: the governance of world sport. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-43167-5. 
• {{cite book |last= Lenskyj |first= Helen Jefferson |title= Inside the Olympic Industry: Power, Politics and Activism |year= 2000 |publisher= SUNY |location= New York

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: International Olympic Committee

• Official IOC website
• Overview of IOC-elections of hosting cities

Links to related articles v t e International Olympic Committee ANOCs IFs NOCs OCOGs Congresses Charter Cup Meetings Members Presidents Order Sports Symbols v t e Association of National Olympic Committees All-African Games Asian Games Pan American Games Africa ANOCA – Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa Americas PASO – Pan American Sports Organization Asia OCA – Olympic Council of Asia Europe EOC – European Olympic Committees Oceania ONOC – Oceania National Olympic Committees v t e International sports federations Federations of Olympic Summer Games FINA (Aquatic sports) FITA (Archery) IAAF (Athletics) BWF (Badminton) FIBA (Basketball) AIBA (Boxing) ICF (Canoeing) UCI (Cycling) FEI (Equestrianism) FIE (Fencing) FIFA (Football) IGF (Golf) FIG (Gymnastics) IHF (Handball) FIH (Field hockey) IJF (Judo) UIPM (Modern pentathlon) FISA (Rowing) IRB (Rugby union) ISAF (Sailing) ISSF (Shooting) ITTF (Table tennis) WTF (Taekwondo) ITF (Tennis) ITU (Triathlon) FIVB (Volleyball) IWF (Weightlifting) FILA (Wrestling) Federations of Olympic Winter Games IBU (Biathlon) FIBT (Bobsleigh and skeleton) WCF (Curling) IIHF (Ice hockey) ISU (Skating sports) FIL (Luge) FIS (Skiing sports) Other IOC Recognised Sports FAI (Air sports) FIB (Bandy) IBAF (Baseball) FIPV (Basque pelota) WCBS (Billard sports) UMB (Carom) WPA (Pool) IBSF (Snooker) CMSB (Boules) CBI (Bocce) WB (Bowls) FIB (Boule Lyonnaise) FIPJP (Pétanque) FIQ (Bowling Ten-pin) WBF (Bridge) FIDE (Chess) IDSF (DanceSport) IFF (Floorball) WKF (Karate) ILSF (Life saving) FIM (Motorcycle sport) UIAA (Mountaineering) IFNA (Netball) IOF (Orienteering) FIP (Polo) UIM (Powerboating) IRF (Racquetball) FIRS (Roller skating) WSF (Squash) IFSC (Sports climbing) ISF (Sumo) ISA (Surfing) TWIF (Tug-of-war) CMAS (Underwater sports) IWSF (Water skiing) IWUF (Wushu) International Olympic Committee

Coordinates: 46°31′5″N 6°35′49″E / 46.51806°N 6.59694°E / 46.51806; 6.59694

Yelena Isinbayeva
Елена Исинбаева

Isinbayeva in Doha, 2010
Personal information
Full name	Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva
Nationality	Russian
Born	(1982-06-03) 3 June 1982 (age 30) Volgograd, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m)
Weight	65 kg (140 lb)
Sport
Sport	Track and field athletics
Event(s)	Pole vault
Achievements and titles
World finals	Outdoor: 2003, 2005, 2007 Indoor: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008
Regional finals	Outdoor: 2002, 2006 Indoor: 2005
Olympic finals	2004, 2008
Highest world ranking	1st (2005–2009)
Personal best(s)	Outdoor: 5.06 WR (2009) indoor: 5.01 WR (2012)
Medal record Women's athletics Competitor for  Russia Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens Pole vault Gold 2008 Beijing Pole vault World Championships Gold 2005 Helsinki Pole vault Gold 2007 Osaka Pole vault Bronze 2003 Paris Pole vault World Indoor Championships Gold 2004 Budapest Pole vault Gold 2006 Moscow Pole vault Gold 2008 Valencia Pole vault Gold 2012 Istanbul Pole vault Silver 2003 Birmingham Pole vault World Cup Gold 2006 Athens Pole vault World Athletics Final Gold 2004 Monaco Pole vault Gold 2005 Monaco Pole vault Gold 2006 Stuttgart Pole vault Gold 2007 Stuttgart Pole vault Gold 2009 Thessaloniki Pole vault European Championships Gold 2006 Gothenburg Pole vault Silver 2002 Munich Pole vault European Indoor Championships Gold 2005 Madrid Pole vault European U23 Championships Gold 2003 Bydgoszcz Pole vault World Junior Championships Gold 2000 Santiago Pole vault Gold 2002 Kingston Pole vault European Junior Championships Gold 2001 Grosseto Pole vault World Youht Championships Gold 1999 Bydgoszcz Pole vault
Updated on 22 April 2012.

Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva (Russian: Елена Гаджиевна Исинбаева, Elena Gadžievna Isinbaeva) (born 3 June 1982) is a Russian pole vaulter. She is twice an Olympic gold medalist (2004 and 2008), a five-time World Champion and the current world record holder in the event. As a result of her accomplishments, she is widely considered the greatest female pole-vaulter of all time.^[1][2]

Isinbayeva has been a major champion on nine occasions (Olympic, World outdoor and indoor champion and European outdoor and indoor champion). She was also the jackpot winner of the IAAF Golden League series in 2007 and 2009. After poor performances at world championships in 2009 and 2010, she took a year-long break from the sport.

She became the first woman to clear the five-metre barrier in 2005. Isinbayeva's current world records are 5.06 m outdoors, a record Isinbayeva set in Zurich in August 2009, and 5.01 m indoors, a record set in February 2012.^[3] The latter was Isinbayeva's twenty-eighth pole vault world record.

Isinbayeva was named Female Athlete of the Year by the IAAF in 2004, 2005 and 2008, and World Sportswoman of the Year by Laureus in 2007 and 2009. She was given the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports in 2009. She is one of only seven athletes (along with Valerie Adams, Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jacques Freitag, Jana Pittman, Dani Samuels) to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event.

Career[link]

Early life and competition[link]

From the age of 5 to 15, Isinbayeva trained as a gymnast in her hometown of Volgograd. She ultimately left the sport because as she grew she was considered too tall to be competitive in gymnastics, ultimately attaining a height of 1.74 m (5' 8½").

Six months after having taken up pole-vaulting she won her first major victory at age 16 during the 1998 World Youth Games in Moscow, Russia with a height of 4.00 m. It was her third athletic competition.^[4] She jumped the same height at the 1998 World Junior Championships in Annecy, France, but this left her 10 cm away from the medal placings.

In 1999, Isinbayeva improved on this height at the World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland when she cleared 4.10 m to take her second gold medal.

At the 2000 World Juniors Isinbayeva again took first place clearing 4.20 m ahead of German Annika Becker. The same year the women's pole vault made its debut as an Olympic event in Sydney, Australia where Stacy Dragila of the United States took gold. In the same event Isinbayeva did not make it out of the qualifying round.

She won another gold medal in 2001, this time at the European Junior Championships with a winning height of 4.40 m.

Isinbayeva continued to improve and 2002 saw her clear 4.55 m at the European Championships, where she gained her first senior championship medal (silver), finishing 5 cm short of her compatriot Svetlana Feofanova.

First world records and Olympic title[link]

2003 was another year of progression and saw Isinbayeva win the European Under 23 Championships gold with 4.65 m (in Bydgoszcz). On 13 July 2003, just about a month after her 21st birthday, Isinbayeva set her first World Record at a meeting in Gateshead, England with a height of 4.82 m, which had made her the favourite to take gold at the World Championships the following month. She ended up winning the bronze medal with Feofanova taking gold and Becker the silver.

At a meeting at Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva set a new indoor world record, with a height of 4.83 m only to see Feofanova increase this by two centimetres the following week. The following month at the World's Indoor in March Isinbayeva broke Feofanova's record with a gold medal winning jump of 4.86 m beating reigning indoor & outdoor champion Feofanova into bronze with reigning Olympic champion Dragila taking silver. The IAAF considered all three records to be over-all (outdoor) records, hence the indoor and outdoor records now stood at 4.86 m

27 June saw Isinbayeva return to Gateshead and improved the world record to 4.87 m. Feofanova responded the following week by breaking the record by a centimetre in Heraklion, Greece.

On 25 July in Birmingham, England, Isinbayeva reclaimed the record jumping 4.89 m and five days later in Crystal Palace, London, added a further centimetre to the record.

The pole vault was one of the most eagerly awaited events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. When Feofanova failed at 4.90 m the gold medal was Isinbayeva's, and she subsequently set a new world record height of 4.91 m. She broke her own record later that year at the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels with a 4.92 m jump. It was her eight world record of the season, which along with her Olympic & World Indoor title helped her gain her first World Athlete of the Year award.

World and European champion[link]

Isinbayeva being interviewed after her victory at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka.

At the European Indoor Championships in Madrid, Spain Isinbayeva won gold with a new indoor world record of 4.90 m. In July 2005, Isinbayeva broke the world record four times over three separate meetings. First in Lausanne, Switzerland, she added an extra centimetre to her own mark clearing 4.93 m. It was the 14th world record of Isinbayeva's career coming just three months after she broke her own indoor mark (4.89 m) in Lievin. Eleven days later, in Madrid, Spain, she added an additional 2 cm to clear 4.95 m. In Crystal Palace, London on 22 July, after improving the record to 4.96 m, she raised the bar to 5.00 m. She then became the first woman in history to clear the once mythical five-metre barrier in pole vaulting, achieving the monumental mark with a single attempt.

After the women's pole vault final at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland was delayed due to extremely bad weather conditions, Isinbayeva once again broke her own world record, performing 5.01 m in her second attempt, and winning the competition with a 41 cm margin of victory, which was the greatest margin ever obtained in any World or Olympic competition for the event.^[5] This was already the eighteenth world record in the career of the then 23-year-old Isinbayeva and her successful season was crowned with her second consecutive World Athlete of the Year award.

At an indoor meeting on 12 February in Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva set a new indoor world record. She cleared 4.91 m. In March she successfully defended her World Indoor title in front of a homeland crowd in Moscow, Russia. During the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg she won the gold medal with a CR of 4.80 metres. This was the only gold medal missing from her collection until that time. In September she won the World Cup, representing Russia, in Athens.

Isinbayeva was crowned Laureus World Sports Woman of the Year for the 2006 season.

Second world and Olympic golds[link]

On 10 February 2007 in Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva broke the world indoor pole vault record again, by clearing 4.93 metres. It was Isinbayeva's 20th world record.^[6]

On 28 August 2007 Isinbayeva repeated as world champion in Osaka at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics with a 4.80 m performance, then failed three times at setting a new world record at 5.02 m. Her competition did no better than 4.75 m.

Isinbayeva passing the bar in Osaka

In 2007 she also won the IAAF Golden League Jackpot (which she shared with Sanya Richards) after having won all 2007 IAAF Golden League meetings. Isinbayeva was unbeaten in the 2007 season and won 18 out of 18 competitions.^[7]

During the indoor 2008 season, Isinbayeva set her twenty-first world record, clearing 4.95 metres on 16 February 2008 in Donetsk, Ukraine. A few weeks later, in Valencia, Spain, Isinbayeva won the World Indoor Championships over Jennifer Stuczynski. It was Isinbayeva's third consecutive World Indoor title.^[8]

On 11 July, at her first outdoor competition of the season, Rome's Golden Gala, Isinbayeva broke her own world record, clearing 5.03 metres. This was her first world record outdoors since the 2005 World Championships. Isinbayeva stated that she had tried 5.02 metres so many times unsuccessfully that her coach told her to change something and so she attempted 5.03 metres.^[9] This record came just as people began to speculate her fall from the top of pole vaulting, as American Jennifer Stuczynski cleared 4.92 metres at the American Olympic Trials. Isinbayeva stated that this motivated her to maintain her reputation as the world's greatest female pole vaulter.^[10] A few weeks later, at the Aviva London Grand Prix, Isinbayeva and Stuczynski competed together for the first time of the outdoor season. Isinbayeva won the competition, with Stuczynski finishing second. Both attempted a new world record of 5.04 metres. Isinbayeva was tantalizingly close on her final attempt, with the bar falling only after Isinbayeva had landed on the mat.^[11]

She successfully cleared that height on 29 July, in Monte-Carlo, Monaco, her twenty-third world record.^[12]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing on 18 August, Isinbayeva needed two vaults to prolong her Olympic title reign and went on to finish the competition with 5.05m, a world record at the time, her 24th world record.^[13]

On 23 November in Monaco, she was selected World Athlete of the Year by the IAAF for the third time in her career, along with Jamaican male sprinter Usain Bolt.

Break and return[link]

In competition at the World Championships in Berlin

Isinbayeva started the 2009 season by becoming the first woman to vault over 5 metres indoors. She first raised her world indoor mark with a vault of 4.97 m, then raised the bar to 5.00 m and cleared that height as well. The two marks were set at the Pole Vault Stars indoor meet, on 15 February, in Donetsk, Ukraine. It was the sixth consecutive year she had set an indoor world record in this meet.^[14] She received the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year in recognition of her achievements – it was also the fifth time she had been nominated for the award in as many years.^[15]

At the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany, Isinbayeva lost her second competition of the year after failing to achieve a successful vault. The world champion was Anna Rogowska who also beat her in the London Grand Prix in May.^[16] However, Yelena Isinbayeva broke her own women's pole vault world record at the Weltklasse Golden League meeting by clearing 5.06 m. On 2 September she was given the 2009 Prince of Asturias Award for Sports.

She hoped to put her World Championships no-mark performance behind her by aiming for a world indoor record at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships.^[17] The Russian cleared her opening height of 4.60 m at the championships in Doha, but she faltered at 4.75 m and she ended up in fourth place and outside of the medals for a second consecutive time.^[18] Following another disappointment at a major championships, she decided to take time out from the sport to recuperate, saying: "A break from competing is absolutely necessary for me. After more than eight years of very hard training and competing at the highest levels both indoors and outdoors each year I need to step back in order for my body to properly recover".^[19]

She missed the opportunity to defend her title at the 2010 European Championships and she was succeeded by her compatriot Svetlana Feofanova, while Fabiana Murer went on to claim the inaugurual IAAF Diamond League pole vault series. Isinbayeva continued to train with Vitaliy Petrov during her time out, however, although did not appear in competition until the start of the 2011 indoor season.^[20] The Russian Winter meeting in February 2011 was the venue for her comeback and she demonstrated her resurgence of form with a first time clearance of 4.81 m, comfortably defeating Feofanava.^[21]

On March 2011, Isinbayeva left her coach Vitaly Petrov and returned to her former mentor Yevgeny Trofimov,^[22] who had coached her since the age of 15 and until 2005. During the 2011 summer season she participated in only a few competitions and on 29 July she won the Diamond League meeting of Stockholm with a season best of 4.76 m. However, in the World Championships in Daegu she ended up again outside of the medals, taking the sixth place with 4.65 m.

She began 2012 with a clearance of 4.70 m at the Governor's Cup in Volgograd.^[23]

Reasons for success[link]

Setting 28 world records (15 outdoor and 13 indoor), staying virtually unbeaten between 2004 and 2009 (winning nine straight gold medals in indoor and outdoor championships) and being elected IAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2004, 2005 and 2008, Isinbayeva has established herself as one of the most successful athletes of her generation.

In August 2005, top UK pole vault coach Steve Rippon said to the BBC that "she [Isinbayeva] is one of the few female pole vaulters I look at and think her technique is as good as the men's. In fact, the second part of her jump is probably better than any male pole vaulter currently competing. She has a fantastic technique, she's quite tall (almost 5ft 9in) and she runs extremely well."^[24]

These statements are confirmed by close observation of her jumps; in detail, Isinbayeva's high level of body control (courtesy of her gymnastics background) especially pays off in the so-called "L-Phase", where it is vital to use the pole's rebound to convert horizontal speed into height. Common mistakes are getting rebounded away in an angle (rather than vertically up) or inability to keep the limbs stiff, both resulting in loss of vertical speed and therefore less height. In Isinbayeva's case, her L-Phase is exemplary.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Her father, Gadzhi Gadzhiyevich Isinbayev, is a plumber and a member of a small (200,000-people strong) ethnic group of Tabasarans who mostly live in Dagestan. Her mother, a shop assistant, is Russian. Isinbayeva also has a sister named Inna. Isinbayeva came from humble beginnings and remembers that her parents had to make many financial sacrifices in her early career.^[25][26][27]

She has both a Bachelor's and Master's Degree after graduating from the Volgograd State Academy of Physical Culture. Currently she is continuing her post-graduate studies there and also studying at the Donetsk National Technical University.^[28]

In the Russian club competitions she represents the railroad military team; she is formally an officer in the Russian army, and on 4 August 2005 she was given military rank of senior lieutenant^[29] before being promoted to captain in August 2008.^[30]

She features in Toshiba ads promoting their entire product line in Russia. She also appears in a Lady's Speed Stick advertisement in Russia.

On 2 December 2010 she gave a speech before the FIFA delegates in Zürich. Later on that occasion it was announced that Russia will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.^[31]

Yelena Isinbayeva is now a member of the ‘Champions for Peace’ club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.^[32]

Αchievements[link]

Isinbayeva celebrating her 2007 World Championships win.

Results[link]

Isinbayeva with a winner's bouquet

2004

• 1st – 4.83 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.86 m – World Indoor Championships, Budapest, Hungary
• 1st – 4.87 m – IAAF Gateshead, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.89 m – Birmingham International Meeting, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.90 m – British Grand Prix London, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.91 m – Summer Olympics, Athens, Greece
• 1st – 4.92 m – Golden League Brussels, Belgium
• 1st – 4.83 m – 2nd World Atletics Final, Monte Carlo, Monaco

2005

• 1st – 4.87 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.90 m – European Indoor Championships, Madrid, Spain
• 1st – 4.93 m – IAAF Lausanne, Switzerland
• 1st – 4.95 m – Meeting de Madrid, Spain
• 1st – 5.00 m – IAAF London, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.79 m – IAAF Stockholm, Sweden
• 1st – 5.01 m – World Championships, Helsinki, Finland
• 1st – 4.93 m – Golden League Brussels, Belgium
• 1st – 4.74 m – 3rd World Athletics Final, Monte Carlo, Monaco

2006

• 1st – 4.91 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.79 m – Norwich Union Grand Prix, Birmingham, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.72 m – Meeting Gaz de France du Pas-de-Calais, Lievin, France
• 1st – 4.80 m – World Indoor Championships, Moscow, Russia
• 1st – 4.76 m – IAAF Paris Saint-Denis, France
• 1st – 4.90 m – IAAF Lausanne, Switzerland
• 1st – 4.91 m – IAAF London, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.80 m – European Championships, Gothenburg, Sweden
• 1st – 4.81 m – Golden League Brussels, Belgium
• 1st – 4.75 m – 4th World Athletics Final, Stuttgart, Germany

2007

• 1st – 4.93 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.91 m – Meeting Gaz De France, Paris, France
• 1st – 4.90 m – Golden League Rome, Italy
• 1st – 4.82 m – Norwich Union Super Grand Prix, London, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.80 m – World Championships, Osaka, Japan
• 1st – Golden League Brussels, Belgium
• 1st – 4.87 m – 5th World Athletics Final, Stuttgart, Germany

2008

• 1st – 4.95 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.75 m – World Indoor Championships, Valencia, Spain
• 1st – 5.03 m – Golden Gala, Rome, Italy
• 1st – 5.04 m – Super Grand Prix, Monte Carlo, Monaco
• 1st – 5.05 m – Summer Olympics, Beijing, China
• 1st – 4.88 m – IAAF Zurich, Switzerland

2009

• 1st – 5.00 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.82 m – Aviva Grand Prix, Birmingham, Great Britain
• 1st – 4.83 m – ISATF Berlin, Germany
• 1st – 4.65 m – Meeting Gaz de France, Paris, France
• 2nd – 4.68 m – Aviva London Grand Prix, London, Great Britain
• no height recorded – World Championships, Berlin, Germany
• 1st – 5.06 m – IAAF Golden League, Zurich, Switzerland

2010

• 1st – 4.85 m – Russian Winter Meeting, Moscow, Russia
• 1st – 4.85 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 4th – 4.60 m – World Indoor Championships, Doha, Qatar

2011

• 1st – 4.81 m – Russian Winter Meeting, Moscow, Russia
• 1st – 4.85 m – Pole Vault Stars, Donetsk, Ukraine
• 1st – 4.60 m – Night of Athletics, Heusden, Belgium
• 1st – 4.76 m – Diamond League, Stockholm, Sweden
• 6th – 4.65 m – World Championships, Daegu, South Korea

2012

• 1st – 5.01 m – XL-Galan, Stockholm, Sweden
• 1st - 4.80 m - World Indoor Championships, Istanbul, Turkey

World record progression by Isinbayeva[link]

Yelena Isinbayeva has set 17 world records and 13 indoor world records. Several of her indoor world records were also ratified as world records.^[33]

Records list[link]

(Records in bold are current ones.)