Injury puts Isinbayeva's return on hold
Russian pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva's intended return to competition after a break of over two years has been put on hold because of a leg injury, local media reported Saturday. The 33-year-old Isinbayeva, who had been planning to participate in the Volgograd Governor's Cup meet this weekend, said she had felt pain in her leg while jogging. "I was jogging when I felt pain in my take-off leg," ITAR-TASS agency quoted Isinbayeva as saying. "I had to withdraw as I just cannot jump. It's a recurrence of an old injury." Isinabyeva, who is set to undergo extensive medical tests in Munich, Germany, is still hoping to compete at Russia's indoor athletics championships and the Russian Winter indoor meeting. Two-time Olympic champion Isinbayeva took a break after winning the 2013 world championships in Moscow, and in 2014 she gave birth to her daughter Eva. Last year she announced she would resume her career in a bid to compete at a fourth Olympics in Rio next August. But her Olympic dream could be in vain as Russia have been provisionally banned from competitions by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) after a World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) independent commission found evidence of "state-sponsored" doping in the country.
