02 January 2010, 20:00
Elena Isinbaeva from Volgograd is athlete of 2009
Double Olympic pole vault champion Elena Isinbaeva from Volgograd and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt are recognized the athletes of the year according to the version of the International Association of Sports Journalists (AIPS).
Even Ms Isinbaeva's failure at the 2009 world championships in Berlin, where she was behind the prize-winners, did not prevent her from becoming the best woman-athlete of the planet of 2009. Soon after her fiasco in Berlin, the 27-year-old Russian set a new world record of 5.06 meters.
Elena was awarded the top AIPS prize for the third time already, and for the second time in a row, as previous awards were in 2006 and 2008. This time she is ahead of Croatian high jumper Blanca Vlasic and American tennis player Serena Williams, as reported by the "Vesti" TV Channel.
The "Newsru.com" Agency adds that in 2008 Elena Isinbaeva was also recognized to be the best athlete of Europe by the European Association of Track-and-Field Athletics.
