Ukrainian Mighty became world champion for the first time. The opponents were not prepared to fight.
Andrey Shitikhin August 28, 2023, 09:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Yaroslava was absolutely the best in the business. Even without Maria Lasitskene.
The 2023 World Championships in Athletics in Budapest ended with a beautiful victory for the high jumper Yaroslava Moguchikh. The 21-year-old Ukrainian won the summer world championship for the first time in her career. She won easily and confidently, without the slightest hint of drama. For a long time it was predicted that Yaroslava would be the queen of the high jump, and now she has jumped to this title.
True, in the absence of the main rival, who missed almost the entire summer season and was simply not allowed to attend the World Cup.
How was the confrontation between the Powerful and Lasitskene:
Masha, you are just space! How the Russian beauty went down in history
Maria Lasitskene, like other Russian athletes, was not allowed to attend last year’s World Championships in Eugene. Of course, this does not at all detract from the merits of Yaroslav the Mighty. Simply and closely there was no such tension, this drama that accompanied the cuts of the best jumpers on the planet.
Yaroslav the Mighty at the 2019 World Cup
Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Suffice it to remember the 2019 Doha World Cup and the confrontation between the then two-time world champion Lasitskene and the 18-year-old Ukrainian star. What then they jumped! Everything was decided at a height of 2.04 m, which both competitors surpassed. The difference was in the number of attempts. Masha surpassed the bar on the first attempt, Yaroslav on the third, setting a personal record at that time and a world record among juniors.
The showdown continued at the Tokyo Olympics, where the only three-time world champion in high jump history, Lasitskene, overcame an injury to achieve the most spectacular and dramatic victory of her career. Mighty became the third, unable to withstand the nervous tension. And then the Russians were knocked out.
Yaroslav Mighty at the 2020 Olympics
Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images
The Mighty One stayed in the sector for jumping alone. No, of course, other girls sometimes put a fight on Yaroslav, and Australian Eleanor Patterson beat the Ukrainian at the 2022 World Cup in Eugene. But the intensity that was in the confrontation between the Mighty and Lasitskene was not even close.
In general, the results of all tournaments in which the Ukrainian jumper participated depended solely on her. Yaroslava did not always show what her fans expected from her. But in Budapest, she just went out and jumped like she should in any tournament.
Yaroslav the Mighty at the 2022 World Cup
Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Mighty was the only one to clear the height of 2.01m: Australians Patterson and Nicola Olislagers stopped at 1.99m. Yaroslava, already in the rank of champion, jumped to a personal best of 2.07 m, but all her attempts ended in failure. It didn’t matter anymore.
The Ukrainian high jumper won the summer world championships for the first time in her career. Before that, there was a victory at the 2022 World Indoor Championships, prizes at other world championships and at the Olympic Games, but there was no big title. Now Yaroslav Moguchikh is the world champion and the main contender for victory at the 2024 Games.
Already with the experience needed to fight in the best competitions and with the title, after which the question is: well, when will he win something big? – is no longer relevant. Mighty is the best high jumper to date among all those competing in the international arena. This is undeniable.
And how the relationship of the best jumpers in the world deteriorated:
One step to hate. How relations deteriorated between the powerful Ukrainian and the Russian Lasitskene
