Atheltics: Pole vault queen Isinbayeva fails again

Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva came into the world indoor championships talking up yet another world record, but she left without a medal after another collapse that raises fresh doubts about her future.

The 27-year-old Russian, who holds the world record at 5 metres and has broken the indoor and outdoor marks 27 times, couldn't manage 4.75 metres yesterday and finished fourth.

It was little beyond a warm-up height for the charismatic star, and Isinbayeva left Doha wondering what went wrong.

"I was in good shape physically. I was ready," said Isinbayeva, who was on the verge of tears. "Maybe it was just mental problems. Maybe I'm tired a little bit mentally. All the time I feel pressure. All the time I feel like I have to be the best, win the medals."

Isinbayeva has won three world indoor titles and the last two Olympics to dominate the event like no other woman before her. But on Sunday, the superwoman was gone, replaced by a fragile athlete struggling to cope with failure.

From the outset in Doha, she never seemed comfortable. She almost didn't make the final after twice failing to clear 4.55 metres on her opening qualifying height. Her third and last attempt brought reprieve. On Sunday, she only had one successful jump at 4.60 metres before failing three times to clear 4.75.

It was the second collapse in the past year and leaves her with no world titles. She relinquished her world outdoor title last year in Berlin to Anna Rogowska of Poland. At the time, she blamed the shock defeat in Berlin on complacency and a lack of credible challengers. But it seems the lessons from Berlin never sunk in.

"It's just something that happens to me," she said. "It's some difficulties I have to step over again. Maybe after Berlin I didn't analyse well."

Isinbayeva said she plans to return to Russia and reassess her future. She said she may take several months off from competition to rest and attempt to regain her passion to compete.

"I don't want to continue like this. I don't want to lose face," she said. "It's really hard. There is no exact explanation for this."