The reigning high jump champion talks to Stuart Weir about preparing for a golden world hat-trick indoors, mastering his technique and removing any limits to his ambitions.
The last time Nikola Ollislagers was in contention for a world championship gold medal, he too had to battle the elements as heavy rain delayed field events at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium.
She emerged victorious from the torrential rain, but while she can be sure to stay completely dry in Torun this time around, the 29-year-old is well aware that her third consecutive world indoor high jump title is not an easy task.
The two-time Olympic silver medalist is on a roll, winning gold in Glasgow 2024 and then Nanjing 12 months ago before navigating the aforementioned Japanese monsoon to land her first world honor outdoors.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Australian also improved her Oceania record in 2025 when she cleared 2.04m in the Diamond League final in Zurich. For a woman known for her copious intra-competition entries, there were plenty of positives to jot down in her diary. That will be part of her process this year as well, as she faces a field that includes world record holder and Olympic champion Jaroslava Mahuchych of Poland.
How do you assess 2025?
My main goal was to be in top shape for the world championships and everything else fell under that in terms of my performance priorities, so it was pleasing that the rest of the season seemed to go very well for that. It was pretty amazing to have the opportunity to win the indoor and outdoor world championships.
You compete indoors and outdoors, in stadiums and street matches. do you have a preference
I love street dating. If you like to interact with the crowd, the street meeting is absolutely great because you can feel all the people around you. There is no wind inside and the wind is hard to adjust to. I think indoor surfaces are often better suited for people who have a higher stance when climbing, so if you just rely on speed, it won’t work as well for you. If you rely solely on your strength, it’s better, but the best indoor jumpers are those who are really, really strong and very technically correct. Sometimes you can go outside, but I feel inside, it’s very, very technical.
Are you still excited about clearing two meters or are you over it?
I’m still excited about it. My first two meter attempt and first two meter in Sydney (in 2021) was one of the highlights of my life. It was a very, very big moment, but I just felt like it wasn’t a perfect flight. I want to make that perfect jump in every environment and under any circumstances. Last year, I wanted to be a two-meter jumper in any conditions, and I had to take a few steps in street meets, in the pouring rain in Tokyo, and indoors. Every time I get over it, that’s the really exciting point. “Okay, we’ve done it again,” but I’m trying to learn not to set the bar too low if my personal best is higher.
How high do you think you can go?
Every year I change as an athlete. Years ago I wanted to jump two meters and now we are at 2.04m. My coach hasn’t put a ceiling on how high I think I can jump because we improve every year, so I guess what I’m working on is every inch higher, just really aiming for it. I know that if you don’t aim for a world record, you won’t make it to the next centimeter. So if I don’t shoot 2.10m plus, I won’t get 2.05m because that really requires you to just push yourself to keep aiming higher and higher.
What ambitions do you have left?
I want to keep jumping higher. As I said, 2.04 m is not the ceiling. Beyond that, I think I have more Olympics in me, and I think there’s a lot more, including more medals. I’ve never raced in South America, so hopefully one day I’ll be able to, and I’ve never done a full indoor season. I think that would be wonderful. The world indoor record is 2.08m, which looks pretty cool. I don’t know what the next four or five years will look like in the high jump landscape. we could have a lot of world record holders, you just never know, so I just want to compete and see how high I can push myself before my body tells me it’s time to retire. I want to enjoy the experience and hope to cross a few things off the bucket list and jump two meters in all kinds of conditions, maybe even one day in the snow. Who knows? There is so much more to sports for me.
How would you describe your technique?
People like to say that jumpers are either about power or about speed. I would say I’m more power based, but it’s always a spectrum. No one is completely one or the other. When I won a medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, I was more of a sprinter. I think you can spot a sprint based on what they do early in the run. If they’re running these little steps, they’re trying to get as much speed as possible, and that’s what I was doing, but my body wasn’t reaching the highest heights that I knew were possible.
In 2019, we changed it to be more power-based. We added weights in the gym, made the run much shorter with fewer steps, and tried to be as precise as possible. And then, over the years, I gradually developed a new phase where I wasn’t doing these big boundaries at first, but trying to get more speed.
I was running right at the beginning. still accurate, still the same amount of steps, but just trying to increase the speed a bit. My coach likes to say that I am turning into a medium power hybrid jumper, something he is very proud of. I think I’m learning how to open up certain muscles and certain movements that I’ve never been able to do before as I get stronger. My technique is a little different every season because I’m finally learning how to unlock the new movement we’ve been trying to go for.
You compete against other athletes or the bar.
Against the high jump line. I don’t even aim for placement, medals or stuff. It’s always about the high jump line, and the more women jumping with me at higher heights against that competitor, the better. I mean, I’d rather jump 2.00m and lose than 1.95m and win. I would always choose the higher bar.
Can you tell me more about that famous notebook?
I just like to take notes on my performance. I think I’m more amused by the fact that I’m being interviewed about it than anything else. I share what’s in the notebook and then the headings are: Everyone is intrigued because of the mystery of what’s in it. For every photographer, there is a list of things that people want from contests, and it is: “Draw Nikolay’s notebook.” I have to brand it!
