The pole vaulting legend is a controversial figure in Russia.
Jelena Isinbayeva receives criticism on her neck from the Russian sports legend. PDO
Ice hockey legend Vyacheslav Fetisov has a crush on Yelena Isinbayeva, and not in a good way. Fetisov does not like the way Isinbayeva acted in her positions of trust in the International Olympic Committee in the IOC.
Isinbajeva served for several years in the IOC Athletes’ Commission. He was pushed aside when his military background started to cause too many problems for the International Olympic Committee.
Isinbayeva publicly denied that she had any connections with the Russian army or the Russian government.
Isinbayeva moved from Russia to Tenerife, Spain in 2023. She has been a negative figure in Russia ever since.
This time, Isinbayeva receives criticism from the Russian hockey legend Vyacheslav Fetisov, who spoke to the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti about how Isinbayeva now lives abroad and how this had inspired Fetisov with his patriotism.
– The fact that he lives abroad is his own decision. He beamed at me about how proud he was when the Russian flag went up in the block. However, he did nothing to ensure that our flag was returned to the International Olympic Committee. Cynical, right? He accepted it. He is one of the few who have left here. Everyone else is here, Fetisov wondered.
Fetisov referred to how Russia was shut out of international sports after it invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Russia was not allowed to participate as a country in the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, for example.
The puck great of his time, Fetisov, 68, highlighted his own sport when he talked about Russian athletes.
– Ice hockey greats return to Russia, even if they could stay abroad and live there in complete peace. They have decided to act differently, Fetisov stated.
In his career, Fetisov won Olympic gold twice and the world championship no less than seven times. In addition to this, he is a two-time NHL Stanley Cup winner.
Isinbayeva, 44, who is the target of Fetisov’s criticism, is one of Russia’s most successful track and field athletes of all time. In his career, he won Olympic gold twice and World Championship gold three times.
Isinbayeva has been in the spotlight in recent years because of her financial mess. Isinbayeva previously cleared her tax debt, but the problems have continued.
Although Isinbayeva currently lives in Tenerife, she still has an apartment in Moscow. Ria Novosti reported in the spring how Isinbayeva has 5,000 euros in arrears for the apartment in question.
Isinbayeva was threatened with the freezing of Russian accounts.