Olympian Yelena Isinbáyeva's unexpected new home after Zelenski sanctions

Yelena Isinbáyeva is a pole vault champion, a Major of the Russian army and as of May 2023... a resident of Spain!

Sanctioned by Volodymyr Zelenski for her ties and support for Vladimir Putin, Isinbáyeva is prohibited from entering Ukrainian territory. On top of that, all her assets have been seized by Ukraine, so the former athlete has chosen to move to another country.

Specifically, Yelena Isinbáyeva has chosen the municipality of Arona, in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) to start a new life with her husband, Nikita Petinov, and their two children.

'El Digital Sur', a local news outlet revealed the details of Isinbáyeva's move on July 12, including photos and data confirming the presence of the former athlete in Arona.

What's more, the aforementioned outlet has reported that Yelena Isinbáyeva not only lives in the Tenerife municipality, but that she does so as a legal resident of Arona.

'El Digital Sur' claims that she owns several properties on the island, among them, "a luxurious home in 'El Palm-Mar', [and] an exclusive residential complex in the municipality of Arona".

As confirmed by the local media, it is a property of about 200 square meters, "a high-standing duplex", which she shares with her family.

'El Digital Sur' also confirmed that Isinbáyeva's two children have been educated in the south of Tenerife, yet another factor that confirms the family's residence in Spain.

As if that were not enough, they have also confirmed that Yelena Isinbáyeva has more real estate assets on the island, such as another property in Callao Salvaje, in the town of Adeje (Tenerife). to

Isinbáyeva is one of four athletes who are prohibited from entering Ukraine.

Shamil Tarpischev (former tennis player), Alexander Popov (former swimmer) and Vitaly Smirnov (former water polo player), like Yelena Isinbáyeva, cannot set foot on Ukrainian soil until further notice.

In Isinbáyeva's case, her support for Vladimir Putin dates back to long before the war with Ukraine.

In fact, the Laureus award winner for Best Sportswoman of the Year in 2007 and 2009, was part of the Russian Army, where she was awarded the rank of 'major' in 2015.

Two years later, in 2017, Yelena Isinbáyeva would form part of the 'Putin Team', together with other familiar faces in Russia (athletes, musicians, actors and activists), to show their support for Vladimir Putin, to support him in his presidential campaign 2018.

It was Isinbáyeva's explicit support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which cost her Zelensky's sanction and the ban on Ukrainian soil.

In case anyone has forgotten, Yelena Isinbayeva dominated the 2000s in the pole vault. She set 27 world records, won two Olympic golds (Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008), in addition to being named world champion three times: 2005, 2007 and 2013.