The second double podium for Ukraine in the history of Olympic athletics tournaments won Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Iryna Herashchenko.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh became the new Olympic champion in the high jump, taking first place in the Paris 2024 final, where another Ukrainian athlete, Iryna Herashchenko, won the bronze.
Mahuchikh and Herashchenko qualified for the final among three Ukrainians. Both “blue and yellow” jumpers cleared the bar at 1.95 meters in the qualifiers, with reigning world champion Mahuchikh achieving this height in two jumps.
Eleven athletes competed in the final. Two jumpers did not start: European silver medalist Angelina Topic withdrew due to injury, and Brazilian Valdileia Martins did not make it to the medal round.
The main competition for the Ukrainians in the final came from the Australian representatives: 2022 World Champion Eleanor Patterson and Nicola Olyslagers, the current Olympic silver medalist who finished ahead of Mahuchikh in the Tokyo 2020 final.
How did the high jump final unfold?
- Iryna Herashchenko cleared the starting bar at 1.86 meters on her first attempt. Yaroslava Mahuchikh postponed her start until the bar was set at 1.91 meters.
- Five jumpers, including Mahuchikh and Herashchenko, cleared 1.91 meters on their first attempts, alongside Australians Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson, and German athlete Christina Gonsel.
- At 1.95 meters, the bar wobbled for both Australian jumpers. Mahuchikh cleared it with ease, followed by her compatriot Herashchenko. A total of eight athletes advanced to the next height.
- Only two jumpers cleared 1.98 meters: Mahuchikh and Olyslagers. Herashchenko knocked the bar off on her first attempt and failed on her next two tries, sharing third place with Patterson and earning her debut Olympic bronze!
- The head-to-head battle for gold between Mahuchikh and Olyslagers began at a height of 2.00 meters. Yaroslava took the lead, clearing the bar on her first attempt, while the Australian needed three jumps to advance to 2.02 meters.
- Both athletes dislodged the 2.02-meter bar on their first two attempts. The decisive third jumps determined the champion: Olyslagers failed her attempt, making Mahuchikh an Olympic champion for the first time in her career!
- Mahuchikh continued the competition at 2.04 meters, just two centimeters shy of the 2004 Olympic record. However, she failed her only attempt at this height and concluded the champion’s final.
Olympics 2024: High jump final results
- Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine) — 2.00 meters,
- Nicola Olyslagers (Australia) — 2.00 meters,
- Iryna Herashchenko (Ukraine) — 1.95 meters,
- Eleanor Patterson (Australia) — 1.95 meters.
Serhiy Oleksiuk for suspilne.sport.
Tags: sport Ukraine
