Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE starting June 12 2026

Isinbayeva to miss winter season due to injury

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Twice Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva will be out of action for four weeks due to a leg injury, the Russian said on Wednesday.

Isinbayeva to miss winter season due to injury
(Reuters)

Isinbayeva, Olympic champion in 2004 and 2008, had been due to return to competition on Saturday for the first time since the birth of her daughter in June, 2014. 

She had to pull out of the Russian Grand Prix in her home city of Volgograd, however, after suffering a calf problem.

"Thankfully, this was not as bad as we originally thought," the 33-year-old told the Russian Athletics Federation's website (www.rusathletics.com).

"This means that I don't need an operation and I will undergo a normal process of trying to get better. This will take around four weeks. Of course the winter season is over for me, but I am optimistically looking forward to summer," Isinbayeva added.  

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Isinbayeva's hopes of competing in this year's Olympics were hit when Russia was suspended from world athletics last November following allegations of widespread and state-sponsored doping in a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The new head of Russia's Athletics Federation, Dmitry Shlyakhtin, said after his election last month that his top priority was to get the country's athletes to the Games in Rio de Janeiro.

(Reporting By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy, editing by Ed Osmond)


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world