It is a jump that has already gone down in athletics history. Indeed, during the Wanda Diamond League Meeting de Paris at the Charléty Stadium on July 7, 2024, Yaroslava Mahuchikh improved on the Ukrainian high jump record with a jump of 2.07m, before going on to clear 2.10m on her first attempt. It was a jump that erased the legendary world record of 2.09m set by Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova at the World Championships in Rome way back in 1987.
“I thought it would happen one day, but not before the Olympic Games, admitted the Ukrainian last winter to European Athletics after she secured the top spot on the podium once again in Paris in August. Prior to jumping 2.10 m, I was smiling and happy. I was imagining the celebrations there would be in Ukraine if I broke the record. It had gone unchallenged for 37 years and I said to myself: ‘Yes, I’m going to do it!’ A lot of people said it wasn’t possible to jump higher than 2.09m, but I did it! It was a wonderful day for my country.”
Doubtless, Friday, June 20, will be a very emotional moment for Yaroslava Mahuchikh as she rediscovers the magical track at Charléty. It will be a sentiment shared by Faith Kipyegon, who also took a new world record in the 1,500m in 2024 (3’49’’04), a year on from a best performance of all time for her in the 5,000 m and for Lamecha Girma in the 3,000m steeplechase. A platform for four world records in two years, to which we can add the best performance in the world of all time over 2 miles for Jakob Ingebrigtsen in 2023, the Wanda Diamond League Meeting de Paris has become ‘the place to be’ for posting world-beating results.
The 23-year-old Ukrainian high jumper, who celebrated her achievement last year with a small glass of champagne, might well write another page in the history of her sport on June 20 especially pitted against the Australian athlete Eleanor Patterson, world champion in 2022, with what is expected to be a crowd of 18,000 spectators looking on. This time around, having stopped watching the competition after believing she was finishing her day at 2.07m, Yaroslava’s father is bound to watch every moment of the event with bated breath.
