In the second part of our nostalgic review of great moments in the history of the European Athletics Indoor Championships, we look back to Madrid in 2005 and the pole vault world indoor record of Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva.
It was all about small steps for Yelena Isinbayeva. She was following the lead that Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka had taken in the men’s event, breaking the world record by a centimetre each time.
On 6 March, the final day of the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Madrid, she treated the crowd to a sensational display as she moved the discipline into a new era.
The previous summer in London, Isinbayeva had hit the 4.90m barrier outdoors as she prepared for Athens where she won the first of her two Olympic gold medals.
But the next mark was to land it indoors, and Madrid was the perfect setting. There is nothing better than a world record at a major championship - and Isinbayeva delivered.
It had been quite a winter for her, breaking the record on three previous occasions in the weeks before Madrid with heights of 4.87m, 4.88m and 4.89m, and now she wanted to hit that 4.90m to win the title in style.
First, though, a surprise, as Isinbayeva knocked the bar off on her opening vault of 4.60m. She quickly moved on from that and normal service was resumed as she decided to increase the height immediately, going over first time at 4.70m, then 4.80m before clearing 4.90m with a long way to spare.
It was a stunning routine as she beat Polish duo Anna Rogowska, who was second with a national record of 4.75m, and Monika Pyrek, third with a personal best of 4.70m.
'I am very happy that I was able to jump a world record for the crowd,' said a delighted Isinbayeva.
Taking the event from the 4.80s into the 4.90s was a crucial moment in the history of women's pole vaulting where the indoor record is now at 5.02m and held by American Jennifer Suhr.
After Madrid, Isinbayeva broke it five times more, with her best standing at 5.01m from 2012 before Suhr’s effort a year later.