SOCHI - Retired Olympic champions Yelena Isinbayeva and Svetlana Zhurova have come back to feel the Olympic atmosphere, this time, as gracious hostesses.

Zhurova, 42, found her way back to the Olympic festivity as the mayor of mountain athletes' village. She admitted that she was missing the Olympics.

"I spent 25 years in the sport, 17 years as a top competitor," Zhurova said on Wednesday. "Of course I miss it, and I miss more being around the people that I've trained and competed with."

Zhurova, who had been involved in the Olympic bidding process, said the moment when Sochi won the right to host the 2014 Games was emotional.

"It was like winning a second gold medal when we got it," Zhurova said.

Zhurova edged China's Wang Mengli, then world number one, to win 500m gold at the 2006 Winter Games. Her arch rival Wang, also retired, picked up the coaching job in the Chinese national team.

Multi-Olympic and world champion Isinbayeva, 32, keeps an eye on the 47-building coastal Olympic village that will house 2,000 athletes and officials.

"I always did the best to be a great athlete in my sporting career and I will do the same to be a great mayor to make you all feel at home," said the former pole vault queen at the village's opening ceremony days ago.