If some confidently claim they will be unrivaled gold medalists in the coming Beijing Olympics, Yelena Isinbayeva is surely among them.
The Russian pole vaulter just cleared 5.04 meters Tuesday night in Monaco, setting the women's outdoor world record, or her 23rd one. The confidence-building plan of the 26-year-old athlete was kept alive after the IAAF London Grand Prix when she failed the attempts to overcome her own world record at Crystal Palace last week.
She created the previous world record of 5.03 meters on July 11 in Rome, Italy.
After the last fixture of the IAAF Grand Prix Tour, Isinbayeva will head for Beijing for her second Olympic gold, and probably the 24th world record.
Nobody but one might pose any threat to the Olympic gold medalist, world champion and European champion. Jennifer Stuczynski of the United States was the second female highest jumper of all time with 4.92 meters. Nursing her back injury, the American national record holder pulled out the women's pole vault of the Super Grand Prix in Monaco.
"I will be happy with doing my personal best," Isinbayeva said on the IAAF website, referring to the world record to her personal best.
Besides the Russian favorite, many elite athletes were telling their great shape in days leading to the Beijing Olympics, from August 8 to 24.
Former world record holder for the men's 100 meters Asafa Powell picked up his speed again after missing several meets due to injuries, blistering 9.82 seconds in the Monaco dash.
Although clocking the third fastest time of this year, Powell said he still had a lot to improve. "Going into Beijing, I feel very good and very fresh," the 25-year-old Jamaican said. "I'm working on bettering 9.74 seconds (the former world record and his personal best)."
Last week in Stockholm, Sweden, Powell beat his countryman Usain Bolt, who grabbed the world record from Powell by two hundredths of a second in May in New York.
Although either of their results in 9.88 to 9.89 seconds respectively was good enough to win a Beijing Olympic gold, the first four places in the Stockholm dash were all occupied by Jamaican sprinters, which evidently show the Jamaicans a formidable fleet to challenge the US sprint squad in the men's 4x100 meters relay as well as the 16-year-old world record in 37.40 seconds, which was held by the US team.