For world and Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva, winning gold in Beijing is not a dream.

It is almost a formality.

The peerless Russian does not expect anything less, after vaulting setting her 23nd world record in July, clearing 5.04m in the Monaco Grand Prix last month.

She has been virtually unbeatable over the past four years, winning every major title on offer and drawing comparisons with the great Ukrainian men's vaulter, Sergei Bubka.

Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva reacts as she fails to beat her world record during the women's pole vault event in the London Grand Prix athletics event at Crystal Palace in London July 25, 2008. [Agencies]

The bubbly 26-year-old has even dared to complain of a lack of competition, preventing her from realizing her full potential.

"It's tough to break records on your own. Just like in any other sport, you need serious rivals who would push you to greater heights," she said in an interview last year.

"I know if I do my best, it's impossible to beat me. There's no chance for anybody. Sorry."

Such has been Isinbayeva's dominance that the former gymnast usually needs only three vaults during competition.

Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva arrives for the Laureus awards ceremony in the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg February 18, 2008. [Agencies]

Emulating her idol Bubka, she tends to use her first vault to warm up, the second to clinch victory and the third to attempt a world record.

She became the first woman to break the 5-meter barrier in July 2005, before vaulting 5.01 at the World Championships in Helsinki the following month.

She has stated her desire to surpass Bubka's tally of 35 world records.

The Russian was well on track to break his mark because she set most of her records in just two seasons, 2004 and 2005.

But she has struggled to maintain her record-breaking pace after dumping her long-time coach Yevgeny Trofimov at the end of 2005.

She set just three indoor marks in nearly three years since her move to join Bubka's former coach Vitaly Petrov, before she finally ended her outdoor jinx in Rome.

Isinbayeva said comments by some of her rivals, particularly American Jenn Stuczynski who has attempted a 5-meter vault this season, have annoyed her.

"I was really angry to hear things like 'The Isinbayeva era is about to end. There's a new queen in women's pole vault on the horizon'. I wanted to prove them all wrong," she said after clearing 5.03.

"I just wanted to show everyone that I'm still the old Yelena. The one and only."

Isinbayeva defended her decision to leave her home town of Volgograd for the glamour of Monaco.

"I'm no longer a shy provincial girl who didn't know how to handle myself in front of hordes of the foreign press and cameras. But I still have the same hunger for success that drives me to be the best I can be.

"As for breaking Bubka's record tally, I know I still have time," said Isinbayeva who wants to stay in the sport at least until the 2012 London Olympics.