by Larry EderThis is a tremendous piece, courtesy of the IAAF, regarding Yelena Isinbayeva, who is moving back to her former coach, Evgeniy Trofimov. Isinbayeva, the world record holder, indoor and out in the pole vault, has had two very difficult years. The piece gives a good view into where Isinbayeva is at this time….special thanks to the IAAF and also to Nickolai Dolgoplov.
Yelena Isinbayeva, 2009 Zurich, photo by PhotoRun.net. EXCLUSIVE – Isinbayeva returns to her original coach
The management of Yelena Isinbayeva, the
reigning 2-time Olympic champion and 27-time World record breaker in the
women’s Pole Vault, has confirmed the news that the 28-year-old star
has returned to her first coach Evgeniy Trofimov.
In an exclusive interview for the IAAF website given to Nickolai
Dolgoplov, our Russian correspondent, Evgeniy Trofimov explains the
events which led to Isinbayeva’s return to his tutelage.
“Yes the news is true,” said Trofimov. “It all happened on (6 March
2011) Forgiveness Sunday (when Orthodox Christians traditionally forgive
each other’s sins)…. At my apartment in Volgograd the phone rang. I
picked- up and immediately heard the voice: ‘Evgeniy Vasilivitch. How do
you do. Yelena is calling’.”
“She talked without any allusions: ‘It is necessary to meet each
other’. I was all the time thinking. I saw clearly and distinctly what
was going on with my former pupil. The former pain which had once
boiled between us has now simmered but had still not disappeared
completely. But it was the 6 March, Forgiveness Sunday.”
“Yelena was waiting for me in a little restaurant…And we had a one to
one talk. The conversation was frank… the conversation was concrete.”
“She had talked the situation over with (her) coach (Vitaly) Petrov
and he knew of her decision. And she would like to be coached by me
again.”
“The talk was extremely good and friendly. And I promised to think it
over. Believe me there were a lot of things to be weighed up
carefully.”
“But on the 8 March…that is a Russian National Holiday called
International Women’s Day the whole family of Yelena, her father and
mother included, were sitting in my flat at the holiday table. And it
turned out that a refusal was impossible… I gave my consent….”
“We have already had two practices in Volgograd. And they went well.
Now at the moment Lena is in Donetsk where her poles are and they will
be brought back to Volgograd soon. The distance between the two cities
is not that long. She’ll bring the poles back.”
“Our first training sessions turned out to be incredible. They were,
how can I explain it to you; full of tenderness and kindness, like they
used to be before. And we did understand each other so well; like
nothing had happened during those five years (since they parted).
“I have all Yelena’s (training) diaries with all her notes. And
everything is clear for me. We should restore (prepare her
for competition) calmly and steadily. And we’ll do it with Lena
seriously, very seriously,” confirmed Evgeniy Trofimov.
Nickolai Dolgoplov (Rossiyskaya Gazeta) for the IAAF
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