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Olympics track & field: 5 athletes to watch

With 49 different events from the women's 3000-meter steeplechase to the men's shot put, track and field has far more than five athletes to watch, but here are some of the most-watched.

4. Yelena Isinbayeva, Russia (pole vault)

Kai Pfaffenbach/REUTERS/File
Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia competes in the women's pole vault final at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu in this 2011 file photo.

  • By Mark Sappenfield Staff writer

Yelena Isinbayeva leaves no doubt that she is a diva. But as often as not, she also leaves no doubt of her skill. The Russian pole vaulter is the two-time defending gold medalist and widely considered the best ever. Widely loved? Maybe not as much.

Part of Isinbayeva's game plan is to try to psyche out the competition by not taking any easy vaults. Most competitors start vaulting at relatively low heights to help get them warmed up. Not Isinbayeva. She starts only when the heights start getting difficult, and until then, she lies on the infield of the track with her back to the competition and a towel over her head as though to signal her complete disdain for her competitors. Those competitors, including British favorite Holly Bleasdale, have said they are not amused. 

Often, it works, though. She's broken her own world records 28 times. Sometimes, it doesn't. At the 2009 world championships, she failed to make a single vault. The same thing happened in a Olympic warm-up event in Monaco earlier this month. 

Which Isinbayeva will show up at the 2012 Olympics? Who knows. But London could be her last Games. She's suggested she may retire. 

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Mark Sappenfield
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