Russian Pole Vaulter Named Sportswoman of the Year
The record-breaking Russian woman pole vaulter Yelena Isunbaveva has been named the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year. She just set her 20th pole vault world record indoors last February with a 4.91m jump in Donetsk.
She won a gold medal in Gothenburg at the European Championships where she set a Championship record of 4.80m. She had attempted to set a new world record of 5.02m but was not successful. She finished off her season by winning the World Cup in Athens.
Isunbaveva’s only loss this year was in the Super Grand Prix in Stockholm where she was bested by Monika Pyrek from Poland. This was her third nomination for the award and the Olympic champion was quoted as being thrilled to finally win, stating that “Winning it was always a dream of mine and now this dream has come true.”
Other winners include tennis player Roger Federer who was named the sportsman of the year for the third year in a row, tennis player Serena Williams for comeback of the year and tennis player Amelie Mauresmo won the breakthrough of the year award for winning both the Australian Open and Wimbledon last year.
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