Russia's pole vaulting great Yelena Isinbayeva reveals: My dream was to be one of the rich and beautiful people I used to see on TV

By IAN STAFFORD

She can justly claim to be the most successful woman athlete of all time but for Yelena Isinbayeva the dream was never simply to become a great champion.

For the 27-year-old Russian pole vaulter, who grew up in a cramped family apartment in the former Soviet Union, admits that she always harboured a desire to become one of the beautiful people.

The irony for Isinbayeva is that when she finally achieved her goal and moved from Volgograd - the city whose former name, Stalingrad, still resonates for its pivotal role in the Second World War - to live among the rich and famous in Monaco, she cried herself to sleep because she felt so lonely.

Last week, as she took a break at the Principality's Louis II Stadium from the punishing training routine which she hopes will help her recover the aura of invincibility she lost, along with her world title, in Berlin last summer, Isinbayeva talked for the first time about the roots of her almost fanatical dedication to her sport.