Women's Pole Vault - PREVIEW

World record holder Yelena Isinbayeva plans to cast aside all of the demons which have haunted her career since failing to defend her World title at the last Championships two years ago.

Few could believe what they witnessed when the Olympic champion came crashing down to ground level zero and out of the competition when no-heighting in Germany's 1936 Olympic Stadium, although after a less than dominant season some forecast it might be on the cards and Anna Rogowska upheld their judgement.

The Queen of Pole Vaulting may have bounced back a few days later when clearing 5.06m in Zurich and posting the 27th her World records, achievements that explained her Pole Vault dominance from 2003 until a night to forget despite it being a balmy evening in Berlin.  

Although lots of pride was restored with her World record in the Letzigrund Stadium, she suffered another severe setback when failing to win a fourth successive title at the 2010 World Indoor Championships to a former training partner and on that occasion an ecstatic Fabiana Murer of Brazil.

Isinbayeva a role model for everything good about not only athletics but the world in general, wisely decided the time had come after several years strenuously traveling the globe to excite spectators with her unmatchable pole vaulting ability, to take the remainder of the year off and recharge her batteries.

The three-time International Athletics Foundation's Women's Athlete of the Year, on returning had two indoor competitions at the beginning of 2011 and a 4.85m clearance at the All-Stars Pole Vault meet in Donetsk, was good enough to rank her joint second with Poland's European Indoor champion Rogowska behind the USA's Jen Suhr (4.86m) on world list.

Then came Isinbayeva's eagerly awaited start to the outdoor campaign and what a dramatic fortnight it proved to be. Rushing around Europe she opened in windy, cold and wet conditions clearing 4.60m in Heusden on 16 July. Three days later she had a disaster when failing to make a height in Lignano and 48 hours later bad luck struck yet again. Warming up she fell on the training track in Lucerne and withdrew from the meet.

Was the clock ticking against her yet again? Isinbayeva resolutely turned off the alarm when lining up against all of the likely contenders for the World crown bar the then-injured Rogowska, when producing a spirited victory and mark of 4.76m at the Samsung Diamond League/DN Galan meet in Stockholm on 29 July.

Isinbayeva may have tickled the bar when clearing with her second attempt at her opening height of 4.64m but by the end of the night she had sent a clear message to her rivals that she will be the vaulter to beat when bidding for a third title in Korea.

However it isn't going to be easy either in the qualifying round on 28 August or the final two days later with very little separating the medal contenders in the rankings.

Great news is that Rogowska will now be present. The holder of nine national records needed several stitches to a gash on her hand when competing in her home town of Sopot and after having won the European Team Championships title with a height of 4.75m in mid-June, showed she was on course for the defence of her title.

Now after an enforced absence Rogowska returned to win the national title with an encouraging height of 4.60m in Bydgodzcz on 12 August and along with 2005 co-silver medallist Monika Pyrek who achieved a season's best but lost on countback, will spearhead the Polish challenge.

2008 Olympic silver medallist Suhr, who was a late withdrawal in Berlin suffering from an Achilles injury, travels to the Championships with a world lead of 4.91m under her belt and a victory at the last Samsung Diamond League meet prior to Daegu in London where she vaulted two centimetres less.

She will be keen to make amends from her absence two years ago while Silke Spiegelburg, who leads the SDL overall rankings, clearly has the ability to go higher than her 4.75m outdoor personal best when second to Rogowska in the ETC. With teammate Martina Strutz having raised the German record to 4.78m, they will be part of a formidable team.

Murer with a season's best of 4.71m and despite an SDL victory in Oslo, has been rather quiet this year but as she showed at the WIC in Doha when defeating Isinbayeva she can get it right on the big occasion.

That is also the case of the multi-medalled Svetlana Feofanova. Russia's 2003 champion, two-time silver medallist and also third four years ago, always comes very well prepared.

David Martin for the IAAF