Paris: Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh added the women’s Olympic high jump gold medal to her collection on Sunday, soaring to a height of 2.00 meters at the Stade de France. The achievement, which capped an impressive series of performances, saw Mahuchikh triumph in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
Australian Nicola Olyslagers secured the silver medal, while Ukraine’s Iryna Gerashchenko and Australia’s Eleanor Patterson shared the bronze.
Having fled her home in Dnipro following Russia’s 2022 invasion, Mahuchikh has maintained an exceptional competitive career. Just weeks before her Olympic victory, she set a new world record with a leap of 2.10 meters, surpassing a mark that had stood since 1987.
Mahuchikh cleared the gold-winning height on her first attempt and clinched the top spot by having fewer failures than Olyslagers. Although she attempted 2.04 meters, she was unable to clear the bar, which she knocked down.
Throughout the competition, Mahuchikh remained focused and composed, using a sleeping bag as she rested on the ground while waiting for her competitors to finish their attempts. She and Olyslagers were the only athletes to clear 1.98 meters without faults, and the event heated up as Olyslagers stirred the crowd but struggled to clear 2.00 meters until her third attempt.
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Neither Mahuchikh nor Olyslagers could clear 2.02 meters, and Mahuchikh, with her eyes painted in blue and yellow, smiled despite her failure at 2.04 meters. The bronze medalists, Gerashchenko and Patterson, who had the fewest failed attempts, rushed to the stands as it became clear they would take home Olympic medals.
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Following the competition, Gerashchenko embraced Mahuchikh, and the duo celebrated by jogging around the stadium draped in Ukrainian flags.
