Ukrainian Mahuchikh breaks 37-year high jump record

Yaroslava Mahuchikh (22) from Ukraine has broken the women's high jump world record after 37 years.

On Monday, at the World Athletics Diamond League event in Paris, France, Mahuchikh cleared 2.10 meters, surpassing the previous world record of 2.09 meters set by Bulgaria's Stefka Kostadinova in 1987. The second-place finisher was Nicola Olyslagers (28) from Australia, who cleared 2.01 meters.

Mahuchikh secured her victory early by clearing 2.03 meters on her second attempt. She then broke the Ukrainian record by clearing 2.07 meters on her second attempt, followed by her record-breaking jump of 2.10 meters on her first attempt. Mahuchikh expressed her joy, saying, "I am happy to finally engrave 'Ukraine' in the history of world athletics. This is a victory for the people of Ukraine." Mahuchikh hails from Dnipro, one of the areas most affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2021.

As a strong contender for the gold medal in the women's high jump at the Paris Olympics, set to open on the 26th, Mahuchikh remarked, "The Olympic atmosphere will be different. It will be much more challenging, but I will prepare well." Mahuchikh had previously set the junior world record by clearing 2.04 meters at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, finished second. She won the bronze medal (2.00 meters) at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and claimed the gold medal (2.01 meters) at last year's World Championships in Budapest.


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com