Zurich, Switzerland- Yulimar Rojas ended her August with a triumphant leap of 15.15 meters in the Women’s Triple Jump at the Zurich Diamond League 2023. Rojas has been on an unbeatable streak for the last two years, during which she has collected four gold medals for Venezuela.
Before Zurich, Rojas’ most recent victory was at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. At first, Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk was ahead of the game as she leapt a good 15.0 meters, and no one came close to this record. At least not until the very end, when Rojas pulled a reverse uno card and surprised everyone when she leapt a solid 15.08 meters on her sixth and final try.
“I knew if someone could change the result at the last minute it would be Yulimar Rojas,” Perez Hernandez said.
Rojas also said last week that she didn’t care about the distance and that her mind was solely focused on clinching the gold medal for her country.
“I didn’t care about the distance. The only thing I had in mind was to win the gold,” Rojas said. “I’m going to appear on the front pages everywhere. But more important, I’m going to be in the hearts of all the Venezuelan people.
On Thursday, Aug 31, Rojas was met with another strong competitor as she went head-to-head with Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts and Cuba’s Liagdamis Povea this time. But with her strong will, Rojas gave her people something to be proud of again this time. Rojas reached 15.15 meters on her fourth try, surpassing her own record from last week. She edged out Ricketts with 14.78 meters and 14.73 meters.
Rojas is set to enter the upcoming competitions that will be held in Brussels on September 8 and Oregon on September 16–17.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine surpasses the 1987 world record for women’s high jump
Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine broke the 1987 mark in the women’s high jump by leaping 2.10 meters at the Paris Diamond League to set a new global record.
The 22-year-old world champion dismissed the idea that she may now have been a clear favorite for the upcoming Olympics, even though she is setting historic records as of the moment.
With her win, the youngster declared: “I am looking forward to the Olympic Games here. I am sure it will be a great competition with an even better atmosphere, but I know it will be hard and very competitive.”
On setting a new world record
With two successful attempts at clearing the 2.01-meter height, the Ukrainian outperformed Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers, the world indoor champion. Mahuchikh cleared 2.03 meters on her second try, but Olyslagers failed in three tries.
Setting a new record for Ukraine, Mahuchikh, the bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, pushed the bar to 2.07 meters and cleared it again on her second try. She raised the bar to 2.10 meters, which she cleared on her first attempt. The crowd cheered as she broke Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova’s 1987 record by one centimeter.
“Finally, I signed Ukraine into the history of world athletics,” Mahuchikh expressed.
Danielle Williams’ back-to-back win in Budapest and Zurich
Last week, on Aug 24, at the World Athletics Championships, Danielle Williams, 24, made her country and teammates proud when she clinched first place at the Women’s 100-meter hurdle event. It was the first time since 2015 that she was able to climb atop the podium with a gold medal around her neck, surprising the spectators with her unexpected win.
It was a tight competition as the Jamaican sprint hurdler boldly went head to head with Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. But with her tenacity and skills, Williams managed to beat Quinn by a mere 0.01 second and emerge as the victor. Williams had a record of 12.43 seconds, while Quinn had 12.44 seconds.
Following this momentous event, Williams dived into another 100 m hurdle competition on Aug 31 at the Zurich Diamond League in 2023. Determined to continue her winning streak, Williams displayed exemplary character and skills as she sought to outdo her fierce opponents in the event.
All of the competitors were off to a good start, but shortly after the second hurdle, the 24-year old managed to pull ahead of her rivals. And, as she continued to do so, she won the event, putting the spectators’ doubts about her capabilities to rest. Williams clocked out at 12.54 seconds, edging out Alaysha Johnson with 12.58 seconds and Kendra Harrison with 12.59 seconds. Another competitor from Jamaica, Megan Tapper, finished in fifth place with a time of 12.64 seconds.
In an interview, Danielle Williams expressed her delight at coming out as the champion in Zurich. She also said that the celebration of her wins could wait until after the final competition in Eugene.
“It is a wonderful feeling coming out here as a World Champion. I mean, I have to give all the thanks for that. The race was a bit slower than I expected, but you know, I came out injury free, and with a win, so I can’t complain,” she said.
“I haven’t had much time to celebrate my big win in Budapest, it will probably be the day after I finish my season. I am now onto my next meet, and I will try to celebrate after Eugene.”
“This silver feels like gold to me”: Chepkoech is satisfied despite failing to beat Yavi
Following their match at the most recent World Athletics Championships, Beatrice Chepkoech lost twice in a row to Winfred Mutile Yavi in the Weltklasse Zurich Diamond League 2023.
In the world of track and field, there is no doubt that Chepkoech has been one of the dominant figures in the past decade, as she set the world record for the fastest woman to ever finish a 3000 meter steeplechase race in just 8:44.32 minutes. An astounding feat, if you ask anyone. And she backed this up with another victory in the 2019 World Athletics Championships, when she clocked 8:54.84 minutes, easily edging out her fierce competitors in the field.
Race after race, Chepkoech eventually earned her place among the best athletes; however, her reign eventually ended in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she placed seventh out of the sixteen athletes in the field. The Kenyan favorite also suffered a hamstring injury in the past, causing her to even opt out of the 2022 World Athletics Championships.
This year, though, Chepkoech pushed through and adamantly decided she would join this year’s competition despite not being fully recovered from her injury.
On Sunday, Aug 27, she was able to exceed all expectations when she achieved a second-place finish in the women’s 3000 m Steeplechase, clocking 8:58:98. At the start of the race, she was in a strong position to take the lead, but Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi, the fourth-place finisher in her previous race, gradually closed the gap and eventually caught up with her in the penultimate lap. Yavi, in the end, was able to take her first ever gold medal in the event.
Nevertheless, Chepkoech was still happy with the results. In an interview, she said:
“This silver feels like gold to me. The last few years have been tough due to my injury. Coming back is something special for me. After being out for the last two years it has been so hard.
“Since the 2020 Olympics I have been struggling and I thought I might never come back. But tonight proves I am still strong. I train with Moraa (Mary, the 800m winner), but I couldn’t watch her race. I am so happy for her because it has been so long she has been waiting for this. It is an incredible night for Kenya.”
On Friday, September 1, the two faced off again in the Weltklasse Zurich Diamond League 2023. However, Yavi, who remained determined to defend her title, came out victorious once again when she clocked out at 9:03.19. She was followed closely by Chepkoech, who finished the race in 9:03.70.
Yavi, in a post-interview, said that she wanted to confirm her victory in this race as well.
“I have dreamed about this for a long time and it makes me feel that I have to believe in myself and to keep on believing. I am very excited – today, it felt almost like the same race as in Budapest so I wanted to confirm my victory,” Yavi said.
Despite her defeat, Chepkoech was still pleased with her silver medal and even acknowledged that this race was easier than the strenuous one last week:
“I think today it was so easy because we did not want to push hard after the World Championships in Budapest. You know, in Budapest we went out hard, and I felt that my body was shutting down, but after running that global final my body started to coming back up again,” the 3000 m steeplechase world record holder said.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine broke the world record in the women’s high jump at the Diamond League event in Paris, setting a magnificent precursor to the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Mahuchikh reached an incredible height of 2.10 metres.
This amazing achievement beat by one centimetre the previous record set by Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria at the 1987 World Championships in Rome.
With only a few days left before the Paris Games, Mahuchikh, the current world champion, has solidified her status as one of the leading competitors with a thrilling performance.
Mahuchikh stated; “The fact that I completed the jump on my first try — and it was amazing — makes me feel amazing.”
Mahuchikh started the competition at 1.92 metres, but she battled through three setbacks to clear 2.03 metres. She subsequently succeeded at 2.05 metres, and following a tense failure at 2.07 metres, she soon made it, creating a new personal best by an astounding one centimetre.
The Ukrainian athlete cleared the 2.10 metres bar on her first try, to thunderous cheers from the sold-out audience at Stade Charlety in southern Paris. In a moment of pure joy, she ran with her arms raised in triumph and embraced her coaching team.
“It was quite amazing, especially considering that on my second try, I just leaped 2.07, which was already a personal record,” she said
“In all honesty, I thought that I could accomplish it, and I decided to try for the world record, which I achieved on my first try, despite my coach’s advice that I should give up because the Olympic Games are approaching—of course, that is more important.”
Mahuchick commented; “Naturally, in addition to working hard to heal from a minor injury before the European Championships, my coaches and I have been working very hard.”
“As my coach always says, the Olympics are a celebration, so you should enjoy yourself, but you also need to be psychologically tough for such a big event.”
Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh clinches gold at women’s world high jump
BUDAPEST, Hungary- As the World Athletics Championships drew to a close, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, 21, brought down the house as she clinched the first and only gold medal at women’s world high jump for her war-afflicted country, Ukraine.
On Sunday, Aug 27, she finished off the evening with her heart-stopping performance as she managed to leap 2.01 meters (6 feets and 7 inches) into the air, beating the defending champion Eleanor Patterson’s record of 1.99 meters.
Mahuchikh was one of 29 athletes from Ukraine who qualified for the World Athletics Championships.
“I am so proud to win this gold for my country. I can’t wait to go back and show this medal to my coach,” said Mahuchikh.
“I (had) to win this gold for my country and all Ukrainian people who are still fighting for peace in Ukraine and for our independence.”
“Thanks to them we have this unique possibility to compete at the international arena and to raise our flag.”, the 21 year old added.
It was definitely a meaningful win for both Ukraine and the 21 year old Mahuchikh as she had to flee from Dnipro, her hometown, because of the war against Russia.
She also adds that it has always been a dream of hers to become the best woman high jumper and to win gold at the championships.
“I have been one of the best woman high jumpers over the last few years and I badly wanted to become the best in the world officially. Before every single one of my jumps tonight I said to myself that I have to win gold. Only gold.”, said Mahuchikh.
Finally, Mahuchikh expressed her excitement towards Paris olympics in 2024:
“Tomorrow we will start the next stage of our preparation. I am looking forward to get another title from the Olympics in Paris.”
In addition to the silver Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk won in the triple jump two nights earlier, this was Ukraine’s first gold medal ever and their second overall.
