IT’S HARD TO call the world’s two best high jumpers “ferocious rivals” when they both seem to be so kind to each other. But Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Nicola Olyslagers have battled often and hard, and like so many competitions lately, this one came down to the Ukrainian and the Australian. This time it was Mahuchikh who triumphed, though fans were deprived of the chance to see the WR holder scale historic heights.
Conditions seemed fine to observers, and indeed, 8 were still in the mix as the bar raised to 6-6 (1.98). Both Olyslagers and Mahuchikh sailed over smoothly on their first attempts. But what they made look easy proved devastating for the rest of the field.
Vashti Cunningham, the only American to make the final, was the first to attempt that bar; she would also be the first to get three misses, none of them close. Still, she would place 5th, her best finish in her three trips to the Games.
Also going out would be Ukrainian Iryna Gerashchenko and Australian Eleanor Patterson. With matching perfect records to that point, they would end up sharing the bronze.
That left only Mahuchikh and Olyslagers, who were World Ranked 1 and 2 for ’23. While the Ukrainian held the advantage in their career matchups, winning 20 of 25, at championship meets the ratio has been much closer: 3–2. Olyslagers with her silver stood a step higher than Mahuchikh on the Tokyo podium. At this year’s World Indoor, the Australian took the gold to Mahuchikh’s silver.
The bar moved to 6-6¾ (2.00) and the match was on. Olyslagers missed, and retired to study her everpresent notebook, while Mahuchikh put the pressure on with a smooth clearance. Olyslagers missed again, bringing even more pressure to bear. The Aussie’s third attempt, though, was textbook perfect, and her joy was amplified by a loud and supportive crowd.
At 6-7½ (2.02), both struggled, though it’s a height that Mahuchikh has cleared in 17 meets and Olyslagers just 4. The bar was repeatedly knocked off by their heels. When Olyslagers missed thrice, that sealed the Olympic triumph for Mahuchikh. With her sole remaining effort, she had the bar moved to 6-8¼ (2.04), but that ended with another miss.
With two Ukrainians and two Australians claiming the medals, they shared a victory lap that thoroughly pleased the nearly capacity crowd.
Said the 22-year-old Mahuchikh, who also won in Budapest last year, “Before the Games there was a lot of pressure from outside, but I tried not to think about that. I felt I was ready, I felt comfortable and I smiled before every attempt because I just enjoyed the atmosphere.
“From my childhood, my coach told me to always jump all heights at the first attempt because it can play a different game. Today I jumped all on my first attempts and it brought me a gold medal. The sky is the limit. We continue working. I want to improve my World Record and maybe win a lot of medals for my country.”
Yet amid the joy, the shadow of war is never far from Mahuchikh: “Almost 500 sportsmen died in the war and they will never compete. They will never celebrate, they will never feel this atmosphere, so I am happy for this medal. It is for all of them.”
WOMEN’S HIGH JUMP RESULTS
FINAL (August 04)
(temperature 75-73F/24-23C; humidity 41-47%)
1. Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukr) 6-6¾ (2.00);
2. Nicola Olyslagers (Aus) 6-6¾ (2.00);
=3. Iryna Gerashchenko (Ukr) 6-4¾ (1.95);
=3. Eleanor Patterson (Aus) 6-4¾ (1.95);
5. Vashti Cunningham (US) 6-4¾ (1.95);
6. Christina Honsel (Ger) 6-4¾ (1.95) =PR;
=7. Elena Kulichenko (Cyp) 6-4¾ (1.95);
=7. Safina Sadullayeva (Uzb) 6-4¾ (1.95);
9. Tatiána Goúsin (Gre) 6-1¼ (1.86);
10. Buse Savaşkan (Tur) 6-1¼ (1.86);
11. Nawal Meniker (Fra) 6-1¼ (1.86);
… nh—Valdiléia Martins (Bra);
… dnc—Angelina Topić (Ser).
| 6-1¼ | 6-3¼ | 6-4¾ | 6-6 | 6-6¾ | 6-7½ | 6-8¼ | |
| Meniker | xxo | xxx | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cunningham | o | xo | o | xxx | — | — | — |
| Olyslagers | p | o | o | o | xxo | xxx | — |
| Savaskan | xo | xxx | — | — | — | — | — |
| Martins | xpp | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kulichenko | o | xo | xxo | xxx | — | — | — |
| Honsel | xo | o | xo | xxx | — | — | — |
| Patterson | o | o | o | xxx | — | — | — |
| Mahuchikh | p | o | o | o | o | xxp | x |
| Gusin | o | xxx | — | — | — | — | — |
| Gerashchenko | o | o | o | xxx | — | — | — |
| Sadullayeva | o | xo | xxo | xxx | — | — | — |
| 1.86 | 1.91 | 1.95 | 1.98 | 2.00 | 2.02 | 2.04 |
QUALIFYING (August 02; auto-qualifier 6-5½/1.97)
Qualifiers: Mahuchikh, Olyslagers, Patterson, Gerashchenko, Sadullayeva & Honsel cleared 6-4¾/1.95, other finalists cleared 6-3½/1.92;
Non-qualifiers: [6-3½/1.92]—Imke Onnen (Ger);
[6-2/1.88]—Rachel Glenn (US), Michaela Hrubá (CzR), Morgan Lake (GB), Airinė Palšytė (Lit), Mirela Demireva (Bul), Yelizaveta Matveyeva (Kaz), Daniela Stanciu (Rom), Temitope Simbiat Adeshina (Ngr), Solene Gicquel (Fra), Lamara Distin (Jam), Rose Yeboah (Gha);
[6-0/1.83]—Lia Apostolovski (Slo), Elisabeth Pihela (Est), Maria Żodzik (Pol), Nadezhda Dubovitskaya (Kaz), Ella Junnila (Fin);
[nh] — Panayióta Dósi (Gre), Yuliya Levchenko (Ukr).
