All-Russia Athletic Federation President Valentin Balakhnichev has called for compatriot Yelena Isinbayeva to continue her glittering athletics career following her second-place finish at the weekend’s European Athlete of the Year Awards.
“Isinbayeva’s achievement (at the weekend) shouldn’t be the last one of her athletics career,” Balakhnichev said to R-Sport news agency.
“She has good chances for an excellent performance at the Olympic Games in 2016.
“I repeat to her constantly that she must stay in athletics.
“If she is serious about competing for gold in 2016, the best way for her to stay sharp may be to keep training and competing throughout the next three years.'
Reigning pole vault world champion Isinbayeva placed second in the women’s 2013 European Athlete of the Year Awards behind Czech Republic’s Zuzana Hejnova.
This performance was largely due to her fantastic comeback at the IAAF World Championships in front of her home crowd in Moscow, which she describes as “the most precious victory” of her career.
The 31-year-old has since declared that she wanted to take some time off from the sport and perhaps start a family.
She has also been involved in her charity foundation, having recently organised a two-day holiday to promote physical culture and sport for orphans of the Volgograd region.
Yet, she did recently express her desire to “come back for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics,” to Russian state television.
Her return to glory was already in itself an improbable comeback, after re-joining her former childhood coach, Evgeny Trofimov.
In Moscow, the pressure was perhaps never greater on Isinbayeva, who delivered the performance of her life.