Australian Nicola Olyslagers has failed in her third attempt at clearing 2.02 meters on the women’s high jump and finally hands the gold medal to Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine!
Mahuchikh wins on a tiebreaker for having the fewest failed jumps throughout today’s competition, so she didn’t even need to attempt a final jump. She did so anyway and didn’t make it, but that doesn’t change the result.
The Ukrainian was wrapped in her country’s flag by a teammate.
“Finally, I got this gold medal,” the defending world champion said, reflecting on her bronze medal from Tokyo. “I’m looking forward to the next competition.”
It’s another gold medal at these Games for the war-torn nation fighting off a Russian invasion, after Ukraine’s first gold came in women’s saber fencing Saturday.
More background: Ukraine sent a team of more than 100 athletes to Paris — fewer than the country had in Tokyo three years ago — and they faced difficult circumstances, including their athletic facilities being destroyed, friends and relatives being killed, and uncertainty about what the future might hold as Russia wages its war.
According to Ukraine’s sports ministry, about 3,000 athletes – from Olympic and non-Olympic sports – have served for the country’s military, either voluntarily or by being drafted, and 479 have been killed while serving or in civilian life.
CNN’s George Ramsay, Amanda Davies and Madalena Araújo contributed reporting to this post.
This post has been updated with a quote from Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh.
