Ukrainian high jumpers dominate Diamond League stage in Zurich: Mahuchikh claims victory, with Herashchenko winning bronze
Yaroslava Mahuchikh, a Ukrainian high jumper, emerged victorious in the Diamond League event in Zurich, clearing a height of 1.96 m. Iryna Herashchenko placed third, while Artur Felfner took seventh place in the javelin throw.
The National Olympic Committee reported that.
The second-to-last Diamond League event was held in Zurich, Switzerland. One featured event was the women's high jump, where Ukrainian athletes Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Iryna Herashchenko competed.
In Zurich, the high jump champion was determined at the second Diamond League stage after the Olympics. Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who won with a height of 1.99 m, emerged victorious just as she did in the previous stage in Lausanne.
In Zurich, Mahuchikh and Herashchenko fought for a spot on the podium alongside Australians Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson, who took home the "silver" and "bronze" medals at the Paris Games. They were joined by Lamara Distin from Jamaica, Safina Sadullayeva from Uzbekistan, Christina Gonzel from Germany, and Lia Apostolovski from Slovenia.
Two competitors, Swiss Salome Lang and French Nawal Meniker, both fell out of the running at the starting height of 1.80 m. The remaining participants could clear the bar at 1.89 m, with Iryna Herashchenko successfully making it on her second attempt. The competition was made more difficult by the rainy weather in Zurich.
Distin and Gonzel's competition ended at 1.89 m. Gonzel was the only athlete capable of eliminating Herashchenko from the Diamond League super final. The Ukrainian almost didn't reach this height but succeeded on her final attempt.
All three podium participants were determined to stand tall at 1.93 m. Nicola Olyslagers and Iryna Herashchenko both cleared the bar on their third attempt.
However, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, after failing to clear the bar on two previous tries, successfully jumped 1.96 m. With only one more attempt left to compete for the win at the Zurich stage, Mahuchikh was able to make it over and secure the victory. Neither Olyslagers nor Herashchenko were able to clear the 1.96 m mark.
Mahuchikh attempted to clear a bar of 2.01 m but was unsuccessful in her three available attempts. Her lowest winning height in a year and a half at international competitions was 1.96 m.
Diamond League. High jump, women
- Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine) — 1.96 m
- Nicola Olyslagers (Australia) — 1.93 m
- Iryna Herashchenko (Ukraine) — 1.93 m
Ukraine will have two representatives at the upcoming Diamond League championship in Brussels: Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who qualified early, and Iryna Herashchenko, who will also compete.
In the javelin sector, Artur Felfner became seventh (75.89m).
The final of the largest commercial athletics tournament will take place next weekend, September 13-14, in Brussels, Belgium.
For reference:
Yaroslava Mahuchikh, a native of Dnipro, holds the current world record in the high jump. She is also the reigning champion of Ukraine in 2021 and has claimed the titles of European champion in both 2022 and 2024 and world champion in 2023.
As a child, she competed in hurdles and long jumps. Her first significant accomplishments on the international stage came in 2018 when she set a record height of 1.94 m and won the European Youth Championship. Then, in May 2019, she became the youngest-ever champion of a Diamond League event. Most recently, she won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games.
She won twice in the Diamond League finals (2022, 2023). During this year's prestigious competition in Paris, she shattered the world record (2.09 m) previously held by the Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova, who is 37 years old. Mahuchikh set a new record at 2.10 m.
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