Jaroslava Mahučih, who only started high jumping at the age of 13, has been a real junior star. Now he is the world record holder.
This article is a republished, updated version of the article originally published on July 19, 2022.
Four years ago, everything was still relatively good. Ukraine’s 18-year-old high jumping talent Jaroslava Mahučih answered the interviewer’s questions bravely and cheerfully in the World Athletics video interview.
The interviewer wanted to know from Mahutshih what his hometown is. Mahutshih is from the city of Dnipro. The athlete, who previously answered a little shyly in English, had gained more courage.
– Come to Ukraine. I’ll show you my country, the good-natured Mahutshih enthused.
– Maybe we will have the World Championships in athletics in Ukraine, the interviewer stated.
– Maybe in the future!
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a war of aggression against Ukraine. Like all Ukrainians, Mahutshih’s life also changed.
From war to world championship
When the war started, Mahutsih was in the middle of his reign. The main aim of the season was set at the World Championships in Belgrade held in March.
Despite the dramatic turn, Mahutših wanted to compete in the World Cup halls. At the beginning of the war, Mahutših prepared for the games in a bomb shelter. He left Dnipro for safety in the village where his coach lives. Training was allowed to take a break for a while.
Traveling from the country was naturally challenging. However, the preparations for the value race soon began. The three-day and 2,000-kilometer journey through Moldova and Romania to Serbia began.
In the light of the statistics, Mahuchih was the favorite to win the World Cup halls, but due to the dramatic turns, the Ukrainian’s jumping ability was a big question mark. The beginning of the competition was a bit tentative, but he slowly got the hang of it.
Mahuchih fought for the gold medal against Australia Eleanor Patterson against. The Ukrainian had his third attempt from a height of 200. Considering the World Championship, he had to go over it.
Mahutših, in his twenties, showed his fierce competitor qualities and cleared the height. He gained more confidence and the next height of 202 went right in the first over.
The result was World Championship gold. Considering the starting points, Mahučih’s performance was deafening.
Mahuchih stated after the race that he had given the Ukrainians a little something to be happy about.
– My gold medal showed that the Ukrainians are strong, Mahuchih told the BBC after the race.
Natural talent
As the performance in the World Cup halls shows, Mahutših is not just any high jumper. The Ukrainian, who only started the sport at the age of 13, has been a real junior star.
Before the age of 20, he crossed the two-meter mark no less than 24 times, when other than just the best result of the race are also included. Mahutših is the overwhelming number one in that statistic.
He also has a World Championship gold and two World Championship silvers, two European Championship golds and an Olympic bronze from the outdoor tracks.
Russia is currently closed from international athletics, so before Mahuchih dominated the sport Maria Lasitskenäa31, has not been seen on the tracks.
Mahuchih took a stand on the absence of Russian athletes before the 2022 World Championships in Oregon.
– I don’t want to see killers on the field, Mahutshih said to the Swedish newspaper for Aftonbladet.
Ex-high jumper Osku Torro considers the Ukrainian jumper a natural talent.
– He runs in an Eastern European style with a huge, wide step. He can run low, typically for a high jumper, which is where he puts in the effort nicely, Torro, who has jumped in several value competitions, estimates.
High jump star factory
Ukraine can be called a real star factory of high jump. The country has produced several top jumpers in the 21st century.
On the men’s side Juri Krimarenko won the world championship in Helsinki 2005. In Moscow 2013, achieved the gold medal at the World Championship Bohdan Bondarenko is, on the other hand, one of the best high jumpers of all time. He is tied for third place in the men’s all-time record with 242.
About women Yulia Levchenko won the World Championship silver in 2017. Torro, who competed against Krimarenko and Bondarenko, says that in general Eastern Europeans have always been good at high jumping.
– Eastern Europe is a favorable region for high jumping. That’s where the long-bodied good guys come from. Bondarenko’s success has probably partly influenced Ukraine’s high jump.
However, the most talented Ukrainian jumper is Mahuchih. The world record for women’s high jump was held by Bulgaria for a long time Stefka Kostadinova 209, made in 1987. Mahutših surpassed it on June 7 in the Diamond League competition in Paris.
The Olympic Games will be competed in Paris next, which will be shown on channels from July 26 to August 11.