Yaroslava Mahuchikh facts for kids

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Yaroslava Mahuchikh

Mahuchikh at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Native name	Ярослава Олексіївна Магучіх
Full name	Yaroslava Oleksiivna Mahuchikh
Nationality	Ukrainian
Born	(2001-09-19) 19 September 2001 (age 23) Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
Height	1.80 m
Weight	55 kg
Sport
Country	Ukraine
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	High jump
Club	Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces
Coached by	Tetiana Stepanova (2013–present) Serhii Stepanov(2022– present)
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking	1st (2022-now)
Personal best(s)	High jump: Outdoor 2.10 m (6 ft 10.55216536 in) WR (Paris 2024) Indoor 2.06 m (6 ft 8.97736221 in) NR (Banská Bystrica 2021)
Medal record Senior level Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 1 World Championships 1 2 0 World Indoor Championships 1 1 0 Diamond League Final 3 1 0 World Athletics Indoor Tour 1 0 0 European Championships 2 0 0 European Indoor Championships 2 0 0 European Games 1 0 0 Women's athletics Representing  Ukraine Olympic Games Gold 2024 Paris High jump Bronze 2020 Tokyo High jump World Championships Gold 2023 Budapest High jump Silver 2022 Eugene High jump Silver 2019 Doha High jump World Indoor Championships Silver 2024 Glasgow High jump Gold 2022 Belgrade High jump Diamond League Final 2024 High jump 2023 High jump 2022 High jump Second 2021 High jump World Athletics Indoor Tour 2020 High jump European Championships Gold 2024 Rome High jump Gold 2022 Munich High jump European Games Gold 2023 Chorzów High jump European Indoor Championships Gold 2023 Istanbul High jump Gold 2021 Toruń High jump European U23 Championships Gold 2021 Tallinn High jump European U20 Championships Gold 2019 Borås High jump Youth Olympics Gold 2018 Buenos Aires High jump World U18 Championships Gold 2017 Nairobi High jump European Youth Olympic Festival Gold 2017 Győr High jump European U18 Championships Gold 2018 Győr High jump Event 1st 2nd 3rd Diamond League Series 19 4 3 World Indoor Tour Meetings 4 0 0

Yaroslava Mahuchikh (born September 19, 2001) is a famous Ukrainian high jumper. She holds the world record for women's high jump. Yaroslava won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She also won gold at the 2023 World Championships and the 2022 World Indoor Championships.

Yaroslava also earned a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She won silver medals at the 2019 and 2022 World Championships. In 2024, she got another silver at the World Indoor Championships. She has won the Diamond League title three times.

In 2024, at the Paris Diamond League, Yaroslava set a new world record. She jumped an amazing 2.10 meters!

Yaroslava's Early Life

Mahuchikh (on the left) with her coach Tetiana Stepanova when she was a child

Yaroslava Mahuchikh was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, on September 19, 2001. Her parents, Olha and Oleksiy, were also athletes. Her father was a canoeist, and her mother was a gymnast and did athletics. Yaroslava's older sister, Anastasia, competed in karate and athletics for Ukraine.

Yaroslava started sports when she was seven years old. She first tried karate because her sister did it, but she didn't enjoy it. Her sister then took her to a local sports club to try athletics. Yaroslava began training with her sister's coach, Olena Kutsenko. What started as fun classes slowly became serious training.

She first competed in sprinting, hurdling, and long jump. When she was 11, her current coach, Tetiana Stepanova, came to the club. At first, both coaches worked with Yaroslava. But when she was 13, Yaroslava began training only with Tetiana Stepanova. Under Stepanova's guidance, Yaroslava fell in love with high jump. She improved very quickly in the next few years.

Besides sports, Yaroslava also took singing and art lessons when she was young. She loved drawing and painting and entered art contests until about 2015-2016. She once dreamed of being an artist or singer. However, this changed after she started track and field. Later, she went to the Dnipro Higher School of Physical Education to become a coach.

Yaroslava's Amazing Career

Youth and Junior Years (2016–2018)

Mahuchikh at the 2017 European Youth Olympics

In 2016, Yaroslava won a gold medal at the Ukrainian National Juniors Athletics Championships. This competition was held in Zaporizhzhia. That same year, she won a silver medal at an international youth competition in Lutsk.

When she was 15, Yaroslava competed in her first international event in Minsk. She jumped 1.82 meters. In May 2017, she won her first gold medal in a youth competition in Bursa, jumping 1.88 meters. In July 2017, she won gold at the 2017 IAAF World U18 Championships in Nairobi. She set a personal best and world age best of 1.92 meters. This was the biggest winning difference in the history of the World U18 Championships. A few weeks later, she won the high jump at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Győr, jumping 1.89 meters.

In May 2018, Yaroslava won a bronze medal at an international meeting, jumping 1.86 meters. In July 2018, she jumped 1.94 meters at the European U18 Championships. She won the gold medal by a large margin and set a new championship record. In October, she won gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. She set a new personal best of 1.95 meters there. A month later, Yaroslava improved her personal best to 1.96 meters. She also equaled the world U18 best at an indoor meeting in Minsk.

First World Medal and Junior Records (2019–2020)

Mahuchikh at the 2019 World Athletics Championships

In 2019, Yaroslava jumped 1.99 meters indoors. This equaled the world U20 indoor record.

In May 2019, she won the first Diamond League event in Doha. She jumped 1.96 meters outdoors. At 17 years old, she became the youngest athlete ever to win a Diamond League event.

In June, at the Prefontaine Classic, Yaroslava jumped 2.0 meters for the first time. She was the youngest jumper in history to do this. She finished third at that event.

In September, she won a silver medal at the World Championships in Doha. She jumped 2.04 meters, breaking the world U20 record. At 18 years old, she became the youngest field event medalist in World Championships history.

In 2019, Yaroslava joined the Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. She was named the European Athletics Female Rising Star and World Athletics Female Rising Star.

In January 2020, Yaroslava set a new world U20 indoor record by jumping 2.01 meters. She broke it again a few days later, jumping 2.02 meters. She won the World Indoor Tour in February.

Olympic Medal and European Indoor Title (2021)

Mahuchikh at the 2020 Summer Olympics

In January 2021, Yaroslava jumped 2.02 meters indoors, matching her Ukrainian indoor record. In February, she cleared 2.06 meters in Banská Bystrica. This was the highest jump by any woman indoors since 2012 and a new Ukrainian national record. This jump made her equal third on the world indoor all-time list.

In March, she won the gold medal at the European Indoor Championships in Toruń.

In July, Yaroslava won the Diamond League event in Stockholm, jumping 2.03 meters. She also won gold at the European U23 Championships in Tallinn, clearing 2.00 meters.

In August, Yaroslava won the bronze medal in high jump at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. This was Ukraine's third Olympic medal in women's high jump.

World Indoor and European Titles (2022)

Mahuchikh at the 2022 European Athletics Championships

In March 2022, after leaving Ukraine due to the conflict, Yaroslava won the gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade. She traveled 2000 km for three days to compete. After this, she moved to Germany to train.

In April, Yaroslava won the Diamond League event in Eugene, jumping 2.00 meters. In June, she improved her world lead to 2.01 meters.

In July, she won the silver medal at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. In August, she won the gold medal at the European Championships in Munich. She was the first Ukrainian woman to win this European high jump title.

In September, she won the Brussels Diamond League meeting with a jump of 2.05 meters, a new Ukrainian national record. Later that month, she won the Diamond League Final in Zürich, claiming her first Diamond League title. Yaroslava won five of the seven Diamond League high jump events in 2022.

First World Championships Gold (2023)

Mahuchikh at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships

In January 2023, Yaroslava jumped 2.00 meters. In February, she improved to 2.02 meters. In March, she won the gold medal at the European Indoor Championships.

In June, she won the gold medal at the European Games. This was a great win for the Ukrainian athletics team.

In August, Yaroslava won the gold medal at the World Championships in Budapest. She was the first Ukrainian to win a world title in 10 years. After her win, Estonia named a demining robot "Yaroslava" after her.

In September, she defended her Diamond League title in Eugene, jumping 2.03 meters. She became the first Ukrainian to win two Diamond League trophies.

New World Record and Olympic Gold (2024)

Mahuchikh clearing the bar at the 2024 Summer Olympics

In January 2024, Yaroslava started her year strong, jumping 2.04 meters. In March, she won a silver medal at the World Indoor Championships. In June, she won gold at the European Championships in Rome, becoming European champion for the second time in a row.

In July, she broke the world record in high jump by jumping 2.10 meters at the Diamond League in Paris. The old record had stood since 1987! After setting the record, Yaroslava spoke about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. She said, "No record will bring joy while Russia attacks my country every day."

In August, Yaroslava won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Paris. She jumped 2.00 meters to become an Olympic champion. This was Ukraine's first individual gold medal at these Games. Yaroslava became the third Ukrainian Olympic champion in athletics. She was also the first Ukrainian sportswoman to win both the Youth Olympic Games and the Olympic Games. Media outlets like Time and The New York Times wrote about her unique habit of resting in a sleeping bag during jump breaks. This helped her win the gold medal.

In September, Yaroslava won the Diamond League event in Zürich. On September 13, she won the Diamond League Final in Brussels, earning her third Diamond League title.

In October, Yaroslava was named the European Athlete of the Year (Female). She was the first Ukrainian sportswoman to win this award. In December, she was crowned the World Female Field Athlete of the Year. She was the first Ukrainian to win this award.

Supporting Ukraine

Yaroslava Mahuchikh has used her platform to support her home country, Ukraine.

Speaking Out for Athletes

In March 2022, after the conflict began, World Athletics banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from international competitions. Yaroslava supported this decision. She said it was important because of the situation in Ukraine.

In June 2023, when there was a discussion about allowing some neutral athletes from Russia to compete, Yaroslava spoke out. She said it was unfair when Ukrainian athletes faced many challenges. She believed Russian athletes should not compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics. World Athletics agreed and kept the ban for track and field athletes from Russia and Belarus at the Paris Games.

Helping Her Country

Yaroslava has also helped Ukraine in other ways. In November 2023, she supported an art project called "Stolen art." This project aimed to show how Ukrainian culture was being damaged.

In August 2024, after winning her Olympic gold medal, Yaroslava donated some of her prize money. She gave 1 million hryvnas (Ukrainian currency) to animal rescue groups. She also donated 1 million hryvnas to help buy vehicles for Ukrainian soldiers. She gave another 500,000 hryvnas to help wounded soldiers.

In October 2024, Yaroslava shared that she sold her Olympic competition bib at a charity auction. It sold for 300,000 hryvnas to help with military rebuilding. She also spoke at a conference about Ukrainian sports during the conflict. Later that month, she became an ambassador for a project called "Save Limb." This project helps injured Ukrainian soldiers recover.

International Competitions

Representing  Ukraine

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Result	Notes
2017	World U18 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	1st	1.92 m	CR
	European Youth Olympics	Győr, Hungary	1st	1.89 m
2018	European U18 Championships	Győr, Hungary	1st	1.94 m	CR
	Youth Olympic Games	Buenos Aires, Argentina	1st	1.92 m + 1.95 m
2019	European U20 Championships	Borås, Sweden	1st	1.92 m
	Diamond League Final	Brussels, Belgium	6th	1.89 m
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	2nd	2.04 m	WJR
2021	European Indoor Championships	Toruń, Poland	1st	2.00 m
	European U23 Championships	Tallinn, Estonia	1st	2.00 m	CR
	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	3rd	2.00 m
	Diamond League Final	Zürich, Switzerland	2nd	2.03 m
2022	World Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	1st	2.02 m
	World Championships	Eugene, USA	2nd	2.02 m
	European Championships	Munich, Germany	1st	1.95 m
	Diamond League Final	Zürich, Switzerland	1st	2.03 m
2023	European Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	1st	1.98 m
	European Games	Chorzów, Poland	1st	1.97 m
	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	1st	2.01 m
	Diamond League Final	Eugene, USA	1st	2.03 m
2024	World Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	2nd	1.97 m
	European Championships	Rome, Italy	1st	2.01 m
	Diamond League Paris	Paris, France	1st	2.10 m	WR
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	1st	2.00 m
	Diamond League Final	Brussels, Belgium	1st	1.97 m

National Championships

Personal Bests

Yaroslava's Life Outside Sports

Yaroslava is dating Nazar Stepanov, who is also a Ukrainian hurdler. He is the son of her coach, Tetiana Stepanova. They got engaged in November 2023. Yaroslava shared that they had to postpone their wedding. They want to celebrate with family and friends in Ukraine, but it is not possible right now.

Yaroslava loves to read. She read Harry Potter books to help her learn English. She enjoys fantasy, science fiction, romance, and crime stories. She also likes books about successful companies like Netflix and Starbucks. She reads biographies of famous people such as Will Smith and Coco Chanel. One of her favorite books is about how Starbucks was built.

Yaroslava is also an ambassador for brands like Puma and Omega SA. She sometimes models for these brands and for fashion magazines like Elle and Vogue Ukraine. She has even appeared at New York Fashion Week. In October 2024, she was in an advertisement for a famous cafe in Kyiv.

Awards and Recognition

Mahuchikh with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in 2024

Yaroslava has received many awards for her amazing achievements:

• World Athletics Awards
  • World Female Field Athlete of the Year: 2024 (Winner)
  • Rising Star of the Year (Women): 2019
• European Athletics Awards
  • European Athlete of the Year (Women): 2024 (Winner)
  • Rising Star of the Year (Women): 2019
• Balkan Athletics Awards
  • Female Athlete of the Year: 2024
• Ukrainian Athletic Federation Awards
  • Best Athlete of the Year: 2021, 2019
• Ukrainian Civil Decoration
  • Member of the Order of Princess Olga: 1st Class (2024), 2nd Class (2023), 3rd Class (2021)
• National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Awards
  • Best Athlete of the Year: 2023, 2024
  • The Olympic Hope of Ukraine: 2019
• Sports Title
  • Merited Master of Sports of Ukraine: 2019
• Other Recognitions
  • Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe List - Sports & Games: 2024
  • Top 100 most influential Ukrainians: 2024

See also

In Spanish: Yaroslava Mahuchij para niños