BUDAPEST, Hungary — World record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh won the women’s high jump at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship after clearing 1.99 metres on Friday night.
The Ukrainian Olympic champion took gold at the Gyula Zsivótzky National Athletics Centre ahead of Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers, who finished second with 1.95m. Fellow Australian Eleanor Patterson and Serbia’s Angelina Topić shared bronze after both clearing 1.91m.
Mahuchikh later attempted 2.04m but did not succeed. Between jumps she used her familiar sleeping bag to stay warm on a chilly evening in the Hungarian capital.
The victory adds the first Ultimate Championship crown to a résumé that already includes Olympic gold and the world record. Winners across the 28-event meeting receive $150,000 from a $10 million prize pot.
Mahuchikh’s win came on the opening night of the three-day championship, the same session in which Sweden’s Armand Duplantis claimed the men’s pole vault with 6.20m.
Olyslagers, a consistent rival at major championships, was the only other athlete to clear 1.95m. Patterson and Topić could not go higher than 1.91m and finished level on countback for third.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship continues in Budapest through Sunday.