MOSCOW, December 18 (R-Sport) - Russian pole vault star Yelena Isinbaeva says that she's a contender for the gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but only if the sport hasn't hit new heights by then.
Isinbaeva, 31, won her third world title in Moscow in August, beating reigning Olympic champion Jenn Suhr and London 2012 silver medalist Yarisley Silva. She then announced a break from her career to start a family and said that she may return for the Olympics in Brazil.
"I want to compete in Rio and I'll try to prepare myself," said Isinbaeva, who jumped 4.89m for gold at Luzhniki, well below her world record of 5.06m.
"But I'll have to think if the level grows suddenly and everyone starts jumping five meters, although I don't really believe that. If everything stays as it is, 4.70, 4.80, then I'll be there and I'm sure that I'll win."
Isinbaeva declined to comment on whether she now intended to start a family, saying only she is "not sure" whether she'll try to defend her world title in Beijing in 2015.
On Tuesday Isinbaeva won R-Sport’s Russian Athlete of the Year award after a triumphant return to elite of athletics.
“This season has been one of the best in recent years,” Isinbaeva told R-Sport. “This year, I had only one greatest victory, at the world championships in Moscow, but I overcame so many difficulties along the way, so for now this is my most precious trophy.”
