by Larry Eder
The young Ukrainian star Yaroslava Mahuchikh won the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in March, just weeks after Russia violated the sovereignty of Ukraine. The whole world seemed to celebrate the young athletes win.
In Rabat, as she did in Eugene, Mahuchikh took the win, and we describe each competitor and each of their attempts.
Can Mahuchikh be defeated? I am not sure at this time.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh, 2022 Nike Pre Classic, photo by Kevin Morris / @kevmofoto
The women’s high jump was a long competition.
Marija Vukovic, Montenegro finished ninth. She cleared 1.80m on her third attempt and missed 3 times at 1.85m.
Maja Nilsson, SWE, finished eighth. Maja cleared 1.80m and 1.85m on her first attempts and missed 3 times at 1.90 meters.
Yuliva Levenchenko, UKR, was seventh. Yuliva cleared 1.80m and 1.85 on first attempts and missed three times at 1.90 meters.
Elena Vallortigara of Italy finished sixth. Elena cleared 1.80m on her first attempt. Then, Elena cleared 1.85m and 1.90m on her second attempt. She then made three-game attempts at 1.93 meters, which she did not clear.
Morgan Lake, GBR, cleared 1.80 and 1.85m on her first attempts. She took two attempts at 1.90m and missed all three attempts at 1.93 meters. Morgan finished fifth.
Nadezhda Dubovitskaya, KAZ, finished fourth. Nadezhda cleared 1.80m, 1.85, and 1.90m all on the first attempts. Nadezhda cleared 1.93m on her third attempt and missed all three attempts at 1.96 meters.
Nicola Olyslagers, AUS, formerly Nicola McDermott, finished third. Nicola meticulously writes down all jumps and comments during her competitions. This must be great to review her feelings, her competitions and her technical issues while competing. Nicola passed on 1.80m, took two attempts at 1.85m, and then, cleared 1.90m and 1.93m on her first attempts. Nicole then missed all three attempts at 1.96 meters.
Irnya Gerashchenko, UKR, finished second. Irnya was flawless from 1.80m, 1.85m, 1.90m and 1.93m, all on first attempts. She lost because she could not clear 1.96m, taking three attempts, with no success.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the World Indoor Champion and Olympic silver medalist, had a strange competition. Yaroslava passed at 1.80m, then cleared 1.85m on her second attempt, in second place. Mahuchikh passed at 1.90m and cleared 1.93m on her second attempt. At this height, Gerashchenko had the lead.
And this is where the young Ukrainian champion won the high jump. Yaroslava Mahuchikh cleared 1.96m on her first attempt. When Gerahshchenko missed all 3 at 1.96m, the competition was Mahuchikh’s victory. Yaroslava made 3 attempts at 2.01 meters, but it was not to be.
After her win, Yaroslava Mahuchikh noted to the media:
“I was happy about my victory. It was fantastic being here in Morocco. I liked the crowd and the atmosphere. Everything was great. I didn´t keep my previous world lead score, but this is the game, there are always ups and downs. I am dedicating this victory to my country back in Ukraine.”
The women’s high jump at the World Championships is the young Ukrainian’s to win or lose. Six weeks to go!
