Isinbayeva signs Chinese deal

Beijing - Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva will sign a sponsorship deal next week with Chinese sportswear firm Li Ning, a spokesperson for the company said on Friday.

The 26-year-old will sign the contract in Beijing on Monday, said the spokesperson, who declined to divulge its terms.

Isinbayeva, who has been the world record-holder since July 2004, was one of the stars of last year's Beijing Olympics, where she set a new record of 5.05m on the way to defending her gold medal.

Isinbayeva also set a new indoor world pole vault record of five metres at a meet in the Ukraine earlier this month.

Li Ning, founded by a Chinese gymnastics hero of the same name, is China's most successful sportswear firm and runs a close third behind Adidas and Nike in the exploding Chinese market of 1.3 billion people.

Li became a national icon by winning three gold medals, two silver and one bronze on China's return from years of Olympic isolation at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.