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Ukrainian High Jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh Opens the 2026 Season With a Victory in Karlsruhe
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Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh won the women’s high jump event at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, edging teammate Yuliia Levchenko in a head-to-head battle that decided the podium, according to Suspilne Sport on February 8.
Seven athletes competed in Karlsruhe, including two Ukrainians. The field also featured Czech jumper Michaela Hrubá, Sweden’s Engla Nilsson, France’s Solène Gicquel, and Germany’s Kristina Gonzel, a finalist at the previous two World Championships and the winner of last year’s Diamond League meeting in Lausanne.
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The competition narrowed to the two Ukrainians at a height of 1.91 meters. Levchenko reached that mark after clearing five previous heights on her first attempt, while Mahuchikh entered the competition at 1.91 meters and chose to pass the height after failing to clear it on her opening try, moving directly to 1.94 meters, as reported by Suspilne.
Mahuchikh took the lead at 1.94 meters, clearing the bar on her first attempt. Levchenko needed three attempts to get over the same height, allowing the contest to continue. Both athletes then cleared 1.96 meters.
The competition was ultimately decided at 1.98 meters, which Mahuchikh cleared while Levchenko was unable to do so, finishing the event with a season-best performance. Mahuchikh went on to clear 2.01 meters on her second attempt but did not manage to clear 2.04 meters, which would have improved her season best.
The Karlsruhe victory comes months after Mahuchikh claimed a bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September.
On September 21, the women’s high jump final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo saw Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers take gold, Poland’s Maria Żodzik win silver, and Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh share bronze with Serbia’s Angelina Topić. Another Ukrainian, Yuliia Levchenko, finished fifth.
The final was disrupted by heavy rain and two suspensions. After the competition narrowed to six athletes at 1.97 meters, Olyslagers secured the title with an earlier clearance at 2.00 meters. Mahuchikh and Topić shared bronze on countback, while Levchenko recorded her best World Championships result since her silver medal in 2017.
Earlier, Yaroslava Mahuchikh secured the 20th Diamond League win of her career by taking first place at the opening meet of the 2025 season in Xiamen, China.
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