Women’s high jump
It The first medals of the 2026 World Indoor Athletics Championships In the city of Torun, Poland, the women’s high jumper race took place as follows.
1 Yaroslava MAHUCHIKH 2:01 a.m
2 Nicola OLYSLAGERS 1.99
2 Angelina TOPIĆ 1.99
2 Yulia Levchenko 1.99
The medalists all cleared 1.99 meters without fail, with only Yaroslava clearing 2.01 meters. Three other athletes scored 1.93, two scored 1.89 and two scored 1.85. Four athletes jumping 1.99 set a good standard for a championship final, but the competition also had an early-season feel to it.
of Yaroslavl “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. I am so happy that two Ukrainians were on the high jump podium, because my next dream is to see three Ukrainian jumpers at the European or World Championships, and we can do that this winter is much more important.”
“The competition was amazing. I can’t remember the last time we had something like this when four girls cleared 1.99m on their first attempt. But being in a situation like this gives me a sense of excitement, it doesn’t scare me. It reminds me of the motivation to jump well. Sometimes you just wake up and you don’t feel like you’re ready to race one of those days. Clearing 1.99m was probably a bigger surprise to me than to anyone else and it’s great to share this medal with two other girls.”
Nicola also explained the challenge of living in Australia while competing mainly in Europe. He will return to Australia next week for the end of the outdoor season.
Angelina said: “I’m really happy and really proud of myself and what I’ve achieved in 2024 after a really serious injury. Today was quite a tough competition. I don’t remember competitions at this level being so high where you had to lift 1.99m after the first attempt to win a medal. It was a crazy race. Having won a bronze medal in Tokyo, I came to Toru hoping to be on the podium and I’m very confident that I could jump 2.01m, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.
“I have been waiting for this medal for a long time. But the best gift I got today is the feeling of joy. After years of fighting for results, medals, records on the field, I was finally able to enjoy everything I did, including my jumps, my technique and my interaction with all the best ladies on the field. Doha ranked fourth in 2019. It’s so great that we push each other to the next level and improve with each competition.
With Yaroslava returning to her best form after a difficult 2025 and three silver medalists pushing her, not to mention Eleanor Patterson, Morgan Lake and more, the women’s high jump could go from strength to strength in 2026.
