Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva clears the bar to break the world record as she wins gold in the women's pole vault final during the athletics competitions in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, yesterday. - ap

beijing, china

Yelena Isinbayeva made sure the Olympic athletics programme ended a lot better than it started yesterday at the Bird's Nest.

The Russian pole vaulter broke her own world record in winning a second consecutive Olympic gold medal. Already assured of victory over rival Jenn Stuczynski of the United States, Isinbayeva set a mark of 5.05 metres on her third and final attempt at that height.

After eclipsing her old world record by one centimetre, Isinbayeva did a somersault on the mat before jogging around the stadium with a Russian flag as the crowd wildly applauded.

It was anything but a celebration about 10 hours earlier when defending 110-metre hurdles champion Liu Xiang, one of the most recognisable faces in China and even more popular than basketball player Yao Ming, walked away from the blocks after pulling up during a false start in qualifying, his Olympics over.