Isinbayeva ups women's pole vault world record

Yelena Isinbayeva sets new world record in MonacoPhoto Gallery>>(BEIJING, July 30) -- Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia cleared 5.04m in the Women's Pole Vault to set a new world record at Herculis 2008, the IAAF World Athletics Tour event held this week in Monaco. It is the last major international competition of the season prior to the Beijing Olympic Games.

This was the second time Isinbayeva, 2004 Olympic gold medalist and 2007 world champion, broke the world record in the Women's Pole Vault within a month, and the twenty-third time that she set a world record.

"I will start my competition at 4.70, then 4.85, then 4.95, and then a 5.04 world record. Yes, it looks easy on paper," Isinbayeva said at a press conference before the competition.

The Russian athlete made it look as easy as it sounds when she rose high above the bar in setting the new record.

"I'm in good shape," Isinbayeva was quoted on the International Association of Athletics Federations website. "I just need to keep my condition until the Olympic Games. I wanted to improve my personal best and that's what I did. I see this world record as a personal one."