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Mahuchikh, 23, broke the the high jump world record in July before winning gold at the Paris Olympics and she gave the intrigues behind her success this year.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh, named as the women’s field athlete of the year at the World Athletics Awards 2024, has finally broken her silence about what gave her the energy to go for the gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games.
The 23-year-old high jumper from Dnipro broke one of the oldest world records as she cleared 2.10m to better the 2.09m set by Bulgaria’s Stefka Kostadinova at the 1987 World Championships in July.
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Two months later, Ukrainian Mahuchikh returned to the French capital and added Olympic gold to the bronze she earned in Tokyo three years prior as she took the Paris 2024 title on countback from Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers after both had cleared 2.00m.
"I felt I should try one attempt at 2.10m and I told my coach Tetyana Stepanova.I walked away like, ‘yes, yes I can do it! Yes, I am ready to jump.’ Then I asked the spectators to clap. And I did it first time! It was an incredible, fantastic feeling," she told World Athletics.
Reflecting on her two achievements this year – Olympic gold and a world record of 2.10m, Mahuchikh described them as fantastic after realising her dream.
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"It was a fantastic year for me because my two dreams – winning the Olympic title and breaking the world record – came true. And the most important thing for me was that I was able to bring that home to my people. I have just spent two months in Ukraine, back home in Dnipro. It was a fantastic two months, despite the rocket attacks," Mahichikh maintained.
She said she was in peak condition both physically and mentally after recovering from injury. “Coming into 2024 my personal bests were 2.06m indoors and 2.05m outdoors, so I had a four-centimetre improvement in 2024. In high jumping, every centimetre counts. But I was ready; I was in good shape, ready to jump a personal best. My mentality was strong.”
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