Moscow: Russian’s double Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva plans to go for a third gold in Rio in 2016 after the birth of her first child, according to her coach Yevgeny Trofimov, local media reported on Wednesday.
Isinbayeva, 31, who announced her retirement after her victory in the 2013 world championships in Moscow, is due to give birth in June and now plans to resume training as soon as possible.
“Yelena decided to return to sport after giving birth to her child. She wants to compete at the 2016 Games at Rio de Janeiro,” Trofimov was quoted as saying by Allsport news agency.
Isinbayeva, who won two Olympic gold medals in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008, has set 28 world records. She has already taken a year off, following her failure at the indoor world championships in Doha in 2010.
Isinbayeva then returned to competition in February 2011 and took bronze at the 2012 London Olympics with 4.70 metres.
Meanwhile, Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt is set to make his return to the track next month around the middle of the international track and field season.
Bolt is due to compete in Ostrava in the Czech Republic June 17, a late start for the Jamaican sprinter recovering from a foot injury, reports CMC.
He is also set to compete at the Paris Diamond League meet on July 5, and at Malmo in Sweden in August.
The 27-year-old Jamaican, the world record holder for 100 and 200 metres, will also compete in the season’s penultimate Diamond League meet in Zurich on August 28.
However, he has not yet decided which distance he will run at the Swiss venue. Bolt has sought to allay the concerns of fans who may be worried about his late seasonal debut. “There is never anything to worry about,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
“For me, I take my time throughout my seasons and you know the season is never perfect — niggles here, niggles there.”
