Isinbayeva to Star at Daegu Event
By Jonathan Sanfilippo
Staff Reporter
She's an Olympic champion. She's a world record holder. And she's going to compete in South Korea.
Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbaeva is one of several world-class athletes who will participate in the Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting Thursday at Daegu Stadium.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)-sanctioned meet will feature eight events apiece for men and women. It is expected to draw 133 total athletes ― 67 men and 66 women ― including 25 who are ranked in the top 10 in the world by the IAAF in their respective events.
Isinbaeva, ranked No. 1 in the women's pole vault, is the biggest star scheduled to compete. The 26-year-old won her second Olympic gold medal and set her 24th world record with a vault of 5.05 meters at the Beijing Games in August. The IAAF elected her Female Athlete of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
The women's competitions in Daegu are also expected to include Torri Edwards of the United States, who is ranked No. 1 in the women's 100 meters, and Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia, who's won a total of five Olympic medals in the long jump and triple jump during her career. Lebedeva, the long jump champion at the 2004 Athens Olympics, earned silver medals in both the long jump and triple jump at the Beijing Games.
The men's entries in Daegu include Beijing Olympic gold medalist Wilfred Bungei of Kenya in the 800 meters along with Beijing bronze medalists Bershawn Jackson of the United States in the 400-meter hurdles and Leevan Sands of the Bahamas in the triple jump.