Yelena Isinbayeva Gets a Gold and a New World Record, but Far Too Easily

Today I witnessed total and complete domination in the bird's nest. (The bird's nest is the nickname of the Olympic Stadium which is home to your favourite track and field stars.)

I thought Michael Phelps had it easy with his eight gold medals, but no one had it easier than Olympic Champion pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva.

The 26-year-old Russian jumped just once in qualifying to secure her place in the final, but had only jumped twice today in the final before all her competitors had been eliminated without reaching her 4.85m second vault.

She'd retained her Olympic gold she won four years ago in Athens without breaking a sweat. The Russian thankfully then went on to beat her own world record and jump 5.05m in front of a jubilant Chinese crowd.

An amazing feat and the 24th world record of her career!

This was lucky, as the crowd would have been less pleased if she'd walked off, job done, and she has that right.

The sad thing is that she won by over 20cm and had absolutely no competition. No one was ever going to jump higher, but what about a bit of pressure? She needs to keep going at the world record, just to stay motivated.

Isinbayeva is an exceptional athlete who last season won the IAAF Golden League with six out of six wins in the pole vault. At 26, she is probably not even in her prime, and the only way is up for this Russian sex symbol.

The former gymnast (she ended up being too tall) will likely line up in four years time at London 2012 where she'll hopefully have the challenge she deserves. And hopefully that challenge will come, because otherwise, what's the point really?

Maybe they could make her wear weights? Or how about shortening her pole? Anything for a challenge really.

Congratulations, Yelena. You're simply too good!