Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh won gold in the women’s high jump at the World Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland, on Friday, while compatriot Yuliia Levchenko took silver.
Mahuchikh cleared 2.01 meters (6 feet 7 inches) on her first attempt, the only athlete to reach that height, according to Suspilne Sport. She later attempted to clear 2.06 meters (6 feet 9 inches) in a bid to set a championship record but failed all three attempts.
“Before Toruń, I had already collected the full set of world indoor medals but, coming here, I realised how I’m hungry for the gold one,” said Mahuchikh, according to France 24.
“Toruń is the city where many Ukrainians moved after the war was started in our country but I was really surprised how many fans came here to support me. It was amazing.”
Levchenko secured silver with a jump of 1.99 meters (6 feet 6 inches), sharing the podium with Serbia’s Angelina Topić and Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers, who also cleared the height.
The gold marks Mahuchikh’s second world indoor title and her fourth medal at the championships.
For Levchenko, the silver medal is her first at a World Indoor Championships, improving on her previous best finish of fifth place in 2018.
Their victories are a glimmer of light for Ukrainians in the world of sport, which has seen controversy after controversy in recent months. In February, the International Paralympic Committee allowed six Russians and four Belarusians to compete in the 2026 Games under their own flags for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The International Olympic Committee, meanwhile, disqualified Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics after he refused to remove a helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed in Russia’s war on Ukraine.