World high jump record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh from Ukraine cleared a world lead of 2.01m on her first attempt to take a record-equalling fourth victory at the Banskobystricka latka, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting, on Thursday (18).
Mahuchikh became the first athlete to surpass the 2.00m-barrier in the discipline this year and in doing so, she tied Blanka Vlasic’s record of four victories in the women’s high jump in the Štiavničky Sport Hall where Mahuchikh holds the meeting record with 2.06m.
However, the Ukrainian only narrowly avoided an early exit, notching up two fouls at a relatively modest height of 1.93m before soaring over 1.96m on her one and only attempt at the new height.
Mahuchikh found herself trailing Australia’s 2022 world champion Eleanor Patterson who maintained an unblemished scorecard with first-time clearances at 1.96m and 1.99m before Mahuchikh seized the initiative by clearing a world lead of 2.01m on her first attempt.
After Patterson bowed out at 2.01m, Mahuchikh raised the bar to 2.04m and the European Athlete of the Year had three close attempts at further improving the world lead.
Mahuchikh’s next competition will be the Apeldoorn 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships from 6-9 March when the 23-year-old will go in search of her third successive European indoor title.
Last year’s winner Angelina Topic from Serbia finished third with 1.96m while reigning European U18 champion Lilianna Batori from Hungary was an excellent fourth on countback ahead of Morgan Lake, clearing a Hungarian indoor U20 record of 1.93m at the age of 18.
Steven Mills for European Athletics