MOSCOW, March 14 (Reuters) - She has been hailed as the queen of athletics
and Russia's newest sweetheart, but life does not get any easier for Olympic
pole vault champion and world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva.
After adding the world indoor title to an already glittering medal
collection, the 23-year-old Volgograd native was probably expecting to receive
new accolades.
Instead, she faced a barrage of questions from demanding local press, more
interested in a possible tie-up with Chelsea billionaire owner Roman
Abramovich's oil company than her sporting triumphs.
To her credit, she took the media blitz in her stride.
Only once Isinbayeva lost her cool when a reporter asked her if she had
spoken to former coach Yevgeny Trofimov.
"No questions about Trofimov," she cut the reporter off.
The Russian dropped a bombshell last November, dumping her long-time mentor
and hiring Vitaly Petrov, the former coach of pole vault great Sergei Bubka.
Trofimov was spotted in the stands of the Olympic sports complex over the
weekend openly cheering for Isinbayeva's main rival Svetlana Feofanova.
The 2003 world champion and Olympic silver medallist won bronze in Moscow --
her first international competition following an 18-month absence through a back
injury.
ICY RELATIONSHIP
Another journalist wanted to know about Isinbayeva's icy relationship with
fellow Russian. The two, sitting side-by-side, hardly looked at each other
during a news conference.
"You see, we're not fighting with each other," Isinbayeva said sarcastically
while Feofanova just smiled.
"We're not friends but we don't have to be enemies either."