Ukrainian high jumper, Yaroslava Mahuchikh believes Paris holds a special kind of magic and she’s ready to conjure it once again.
Speaking at the pre-event press conference ahead of the Paris Diamond League set for Friday, June 20, the reigning Olympic and world high jump champion expressed her emotional connection with the French capital.
“I really want to do it. I don’t know how it happened, but I know that this is a fantastic place and something magical,” Mahuchikh said. “Paris is always magical for me, because here I jumped my first world record and I hope it will not be the last one. I won the gold medal of the Olympic Games here, so I think something special should be coming.”
Mahuchikh, who cleared 2.10m last year in Paris to set a new world record, is coming off a narrow defeat at the Stockholm Diamond League. At Stockholm, she managed 1.99m, losing to Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers, who jumped 2.01m.
Despite the loss, the Ukrainian remains the woman to beat as she looks to extend her dominance and chase a fourth Diamond Trophy.
Star-Field
Yaroslava Mahuchikh, will renew her rivalry with Olyslagers, the Olympic silver medalist and current world No. 2, who has looked sharp this season. Also in the mix is Mahuchikh’s compatriot Iryna Gerashchenko, a consistent podium threat in recent years.
Great Britain’s Morgan Lake, a 2023 Diamond League finalist, adds depth to the field, while Serbia’s Angelina Topić, a World U20 medalist, is one to watch as the future of high jump.