PARIS — Ukraine’s best high jumper captured a world record on Sunday to go with her world championship, and now she has a good reason to think she might bring home an Olympic gold medal to her war-torn country.
At a Diamond League meet in Paris, Yaroslava Mahuchikh erased a mark that had stood for 37 years, jumping 2.10 meters (6.88 feet) in one of the last big tuneups leading into the Olympics.
The previous record of 2.09 was set by Bulgaria’s Stefka Kostadinova in Rome in 1987.
“Coming into this competition, I had feelings that I could jump 2.07 meters and maybe 2.10 meters,” Mahuchikh said. “Finally I signed Ukraine to the history of world athletics.”
The 22-year-old Mahuchikh and world indoor champion Nicola Olyslagers both cleared 2.01 meters on their second attempt. After Olyslagers failed three times at 2.03, Mahuchikh cleared that height to secure victory.
She then cleared 2.07 meters to set a Ukrainian record and had the bar raised to 2.10, which she cleared on her first try.
Mahuchikh left her hometown of Dnipro shortly after the war with Russia began. Like virtually all elite athletes in her country, she has been training in foreign countries while keeping tabs on the war back home. She has been outspoken about the role Ukrainian sports can play…
