The Ukrainian high jumper beats Nikola Olislagers, Angelina Topich and Yulia Levchenko in the 2.01m on the opening day in Torun.
Jaroslava Mahucich won the European indoor title in Toruń in 2021 and returned to action on Friday (March 20) to win her second world indoor gold.
The 24-year-old was the only athlete to clear 2.01m as Nikola Ollislager of Australia, Angelina Topic of Serbia and Yulia Levchenko all tied for silver, clearing 1.99m for the first time.
After a disappointing 2025 in which she won “only” world indoor and outdoor bronze medals, Mahuchych returned to her native Ukraine to train this winter for the first time since the outbreak of war. The routine has clearly worked for him too.
He followed up his winning jump with three unsuccessful attempts with a championship record of 2.06m.
“Before Torun, I had already collected the entire collection of world indoor medals, but coming here, I realized how hungry I am for a gold medal,” Mahuchich said.
“I started my successful senior career in this arena in 2021, but today I had a different feeling. Torun is the city where many Ukrainians moved after the war started in our country, but I was really surprised how many fans came here to support me.
“It was amazing. They gave me a lot of energy and motivation to raise the bar even though I had already won the gold.”
Defending champions Ollislagers said: “The competition was amazing. I can’t remember the last time we had something like this, with four girls clearing 1.99m on their first attempt.”
