YELENA ISINBAYEVA, RUSSIA
Age 30; Pole vault The queen of pole- vaulting is eyeing her third consecutive gold at the London Games. The Russian has already set 27 world records but aims to surpass mentor Sergey Bubka’s mark of 35. Her world record of 5.06m is the equivalent of clearing a London double- decker bus with more than two feet to spare. She is a captain in the Russian army.