Winning the world champion with her 18th career world records, Russian beauty Yelena Isinbayeva has set her sights on another world mark.

Isinbayeva, who just became the first woman to clear five meters last month in London, had actually sealed the title at the 10th world championships after clearing 5.70 meters in her first attempt. But she improved her own world record of five meters by one centimeter in her second attempt.

This was her 18th world record and she is halfway into the goal to emulate men's pole vault great Sergei Bubka's 35, which has always been her goal.

Bubka broke the men's world record almost at will between 1984 and 1994, setting 35 world bests in a phenomenal career.

Insibayeva has already looked far beyond the world champion.

"I'm sure I'll be able to clear 5.02m still during this season, " she said.

But in the future, even Isinbayeva herself does not know how high she can jump.

"I don't know how much higher I can go, maybe 5.05 meters," she said before coming to the world chamionships.

It was Isinbayeva's first gold medal in the world championships, so the 23-year-old was very happy with the gold.

"I'm extremely happy and satisfied with the world record and the gold medal in the world championships," she said. "Today the world record height seemed to be extremely high. It was really difficult to jump at that height. Helsinki was my main competition this year and my training was aimed for this competition. Becoming a world champion was not a dream, but the target."

Isinbayeva knew nothing about the pole vault when she was a child. She grew up a gymnast in her native Volgograd whose coach believed she was too tall to be successful and suggested she take up the pole vault.

Her pole vault coach Yevgeny Trofimov started her new life, a career which has brought Isinbayeva fame and is gathering her a fortune.

After an initial jump of 2.80m, Isinbayeva quickly improved, winning the 1999 world youth title. By 2001 she was the world junior record holder and two years ago she took the bronze medal at the Paris world championships. Her first world record was set in Gateshead, England, that year, a leap of 4.82m.

Isinbayeva made an attempt on her world mark of 5.01, but failed in Stockholm last month but still collecting a one-carat diamond for breaking the stadium record.

"It was my dream to be the first woman over five meters," she said. "Now I would like to have 36 world records. It's my new goal."

Source: Xinhua