Yelena Isinbayeva

A trained gymnast who switched to the vault at 15, Isinbayeva brought inversion and body control the women's event had not seen before. She set 28 world records, became the first woman over five metres in 2005, and won Olympic gold in Athens and Beijing. In her peak years she worked with Bubka's coach Vitaly Petrov, a direct link between the two greatest record breakers of their eras. Russia's suspension kept her out of the Rio Games.