How a sleeping bag became the main catalyst for Jaroslava Mahuchych’s victory in Paris
Every story has a watershed moment. Some might even call it a fork in the road. Elite athletes can even become superstitious if the event continues and becomes the catalyst for their victory.
In Paris, Jaroslava Mahuchych lay under a sleeping bag, eyes half-closed, torn between attention and giving up. From the stands, it seemed strange that the world-class high jumper was out on the stadium floor, surrounded by competitors and cameras, but it looked more like she was camping on the field than preparing. jumped Olympic gold.
But this routine, this little piece of silence in the chaos, was her secret weapon. In a career defined by courage, Mahuchich had turned to simple tools: a braid for luck, a book for escape, and now a sleeping bag for relaxation. He said it was a way to forget the crowds, the stakes and even the bitter memories of the besieged country.
The journey to this defining moment had begun in the morning of 2022, the kind of morning that divides lives before and after. Mahuchich woke up to the sound of explosions and the terrifying knowledge that his world would never be the same. He had laughed when he heard it. The nervous, uncontrollable laughter of someone whose brain refuses to process the new and terrifying reality.
He stayed in Dnipro for months, delivering humanitarian aid to those in need, hoping that somehow his country would turn around. But when he got the chance to compete in the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, he knew what to do motherland beaten, he could still represent Ukraine on the world stage.He packed up his gear and set off on a three-day trip by car, crossing borders and detours checkpoints, guided by the belief that his victory could also be the victory of his country.
Arriving in Belgrade, the then 20-year-old somehow found his footing on that cold track. Mahuchich shrugged off his doubts, clearing the bar at 2.02m and walking away with his first senior Gold.
Two years later, he arrived in Paris with more medals and an even heavier burden. The yellow and blue of Ukraine painted on his face was a constant reminder to those who had hoped for him, watching him from a country half-destroyed but not defeated. When he entered the Stade de France, his sleeping bag was the first thing he brought out.
The seconds between flights are heavy in anticipation, and the mind tries to repeat each step. But lying on the ground, staring at the sky or the lights of the stadium, Mahuchich found peace. “I feel comfortable when I lie down and sometimes I watch the clouds,” he said TIME: after the event. “Sometimes I’m counting 1, 2, 3 or breathing in, breathing out. It’s like… relax, don’t think about being in the stadium.”
The world noticed the sleeping bag. Social media was abuzz with fans interested in the strange ritual, and some laughed at the sight.But in that quiet cocoon, Mahuchich found his strength. He could block out the noise, the tension, and focus on the only thing that mattered, himself and the good.
When he won gold in Paris, it seemed like everyone in the stadium could relate to his story. But it wasn’t just his skill that got him here, it was the willpower that saw him survive his country’s history. one of the darkest chapters, and about a unique ability to find calm in the chaos.
Without a doubt, the high jump can be one of the loneliest events in track and field, with its individual dance against gravity, but every time Mahuchich jumped, she wasn’t alone. He took with him the hopes of millions, for whom he was a symbol of endurance. His victories were shared, not just celebrated. “We are all fighting for our people, our soldiers,” he often said was he. “We want to show everyone in the world that we will continue to fight, that the war is not over.”
In Paris, his ritual became an inspiration. Between flights, lying under that sleeping bag, he did not hide. he was charging. His methods were unconventional, perhaps even strange. His endurance was not just a headline; it was something lived, something earned in every tense second before he went to the bar. And by the time the night was over, Mahuchich was more than just a gold medalist. He was reminding what gloom looks like, what it means to carry the spirit of the nation not in words, but in deeds.
