New queen of pole vault? Russian athlete Anzhelika Sidorova wins gold at IAAF World Championships
Russian athlete Anzhelika Sidorova has followed in the footsteps of her legendary predecessor – Olympic and world champion Yelena Isinbayeva – claiming pole vault gold at the IAAF World Athletic Championships in Doha, Qatar.
The 28-year-old delivered a more than confident performance on Sunday night surpassing her more decorated rivals – reigning Olympic title holder Ekaterini Stefanidi from Greece and Olympic runner-up Sandi Morris of the USA.
The uncompromised fight for gold unfolded between Sidorova and Morris who cleared the first five heights on their first attempts.
The gold-deciding height of 4.95 meters looked unachievable for both athletes as they failed to clear it on two first attempts with Morris squandering her third and final vault as well.
In one of the greatest pole vault competitions in #WorldAthleticsChamps history, Anzhelika Sidorova clears a PB 4.95m to claim 🥇 pic.twitter.com/RxmjlJ2iot
— IAAF (@iaaforg) September 29, 2019
It was Sidorova’s moment of glory when she coped with the height on the third attempt beating her personal best result by six centimeters.
The newly-crowned champion was competing as a neutral athlete, wearing a neutral blue uniform at the demand of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) which extended a ban on the Russian Athletics Federation (RUSAF).
“I know there will be no Russian anthem at the award ceremony, but I can do nothing about it. Let’s concentrate on the positive things,” Sidorova said after the victory.
This was the first victory taken by a Russian female pole vaulter since Isinbayeva’s triumph at the 2013 world summit in Moscow.
