Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva bounced back from losing her world title by setting a world record at 5.06 metres at the Weltklasse meet yesterday.

Isinbayeva set the mark in her first attempt at the Golden League meet, improving on the 5.05 she set at Beijing a year ago in winning her second Olympic gold medal. She has broken the world outdoor and indoor marks 27 times.

The Russian lost her title at the World Championships in Berlin last week when she failed to clear a height.

aiming for the record

"I was fresh, I was aiming for the record," Isinbayeva told the crowd at Letzigrund Stadium.

Isinbayeva passed the first five heights, then cleared 4.71 in her first attempt and did the same at 4.81, which assured her of victory over Anna Rogowska of Poland, who won gold in Berlin but had to settle for second at 4.76.

"I was surprised it was so easy," Isinbayeva said. "I feel great. It's really unbelievable just after such a great defeat in Berlin, but I'm happy that I was defeated, otherwise I wouldn't be so hungry for the world record."

Isinbayeva said her biggest thanks belonged to her coach Vitaliy Petrov, " ... who gave me the best advice after what happened in Berlin.

"It was just a problem with myself. It was necessary to repair my brain to see the sport from the other side because when you're always on the top it's hard to analyse. It was very useful for me to lose."