Ukrainian high jumpers Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Yuliia Levchenko opened their season at the Diamond League meeting in Rabat, where the two athletes experienced very different trajectories in the women’s high jump competition.
Mahuchikh, the reigning world-class contender and Ukraine’s team leader in the event, entered the competition at 1.91 m, skipping the lower opening heights. She cleared her first attempt at that mark despite a slight contact with the bar, then immediately followed with another clean clearance at 1.94 m.
At that height, she was joined by Australia’s Eleanor Patterson, who also cleared 1.94 m on her first attempt. Serbia’s Angelina Topić reached the same mark only on her third try and later withdrew from the competition.
The battle for victory effectively narrowed at 1.97 m. Both Mahuchikh and Patterson missed their first attempts, but the Ukrainian cleared the height on her second try, while Patterson was unable to continue at that level.
With the win secured, Mahuchikh attempted 2.00 m, but was unable to clear the height in two attempts. She then raised the bar to 2.02 m — the meeting record in Rabat — for her final attempt, but again fell short. Still, her result of 1.97 m was enough to secure the gold medal in her season opener.
For Yuliia Levchenko, the competition followed a more consistent but less high-reaching pattern. She cleared 1.83 m, 1.87 m, and 1.91 m on her first attempts, showing stability through the early stages. However, she was unable to overcome 1.94 m, despite a close final attempt, and finished just outside the podium in fourth place.
