World records to Mahuckikh and Kipyegon
Ukrainian sets mark in women's high jump, Kenyan lowers her best in women's 1,500
Yaroslava Mahuckikh of Ukraine and Faith Kipyegon of Kenya set world records in the women’s high jump and 1,500 meters, respectively, in the Meeting de Paris Diamond League meet on Sunday.
Competing in the French capital that will host the Olympic Games from July 24 - August 11, Mahuchikh cleared 2.10 meters (6 feet 10¾ inches) in the high jump to break the previous mark of 2.09 (6-10¼) that had been set nearly 37 years ago by Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria in the 1987 World Athletics Championships in Rome.
Kipyegon clocked 3 minutes 49.04 seconds in the 1,500 to lower the previous best of 3:49.11 that she had run in the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet in Florence, Italy, last year.
The 22-year-old Mahuckikh, who entered the meet as the reigning World champion and the Ukrainian record-holder at 2.06 (6-9), defeated a high-quality field that included Nicola Olyslagers of Australia, who finished second at 2.01 (6-7), and Angelina Topic of Serbia, who placed third while tying her national record of 1.98 (6-6).
“I feel fantastic because it was an incredible jump, and I managed to do it in my first attempt,” Mahuchikh was quoted as saying on the meet website. “It was really incredible, even more so because I only jumped 2.07 at my second attempt, and it was already my personal best.”
Mahuchikh added that her coach “told me that maybe I should stop because of the Olympic Games coming up – of course that is more important – but I felt inside I could do it, and to be honest, I wanted to try the World record – and I did it on my first attempt.”
After a brief three-meet undercover campaign that concluded with a second-place finish behind Olyslagers in the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, on March 1, Mahuchikh opened her outdoor season by clearing a winning height of 2.00 (6-6¾) in the BAUHAUS-Galan Diamond League meet in Stockholm on June 2.
She followed that with a winning height of 2.01 (6-7) in the European Athletics Championships in Rome a week later. However, she had not jumped since then.
After passing at the first four heights of the competition on Sunday, she cleared 1.92 (6-3½) on her first attempt, but it took her two tries to make 1.95 (6-4¾).
She then cleared 1.98 (6-6) on her first attempt but again needed two tries to get over 2.01 (6-7) and 2.03 (6-8).
After Olyslagers missed her third — and final — attempt at 2.03, Mahuckikh passed at the next height of 2.05 (6-8¾) before missing her first attempt at a national record of 2.07 (6-9½). But when she cleared the bar on her second attempt, she moved into a four-way tie for fourth on the all-time performer list comprised of both indoor and outdoor performances.
She then cleared 2.10 (6-10¾) on her first try while brushing the bar ever so slightly to top a record that was held by one of the event’s all-time greats.
Kostadinova had tied the world outdoor record once and raised it twice during a career that included gold medals in the 1987 and ’95 World Championships, and in the 1996 Olympic Games. She also won four World indoor titles, cleared 2.06 or higher in 11 meets during her career, and was the top-ranked competitor in the world by Track & Field News six times, including four years in a row from 1985-88.
Mahuckikh, who did not attempt another height after her world-record clearance, said she had dealt with a small injury prior to the European Championships, but now “that I am healthy, I am ready to fight, and I broke my own national record here in Paris where people have been very supportive. I am looking forward to the Olympic Games here. I’m sure it will be a great competition, and even better atmosphere – but I know it will be tough, and will be very competitive. A major event like the Olympics you really need to be mentally strong, and as my coach says, it is a celebration and you should enjoy it.”
Mahuckikh had been quite popular on the European track and field circuit since she placed second in the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, at the age of 18. But the admiration for her has grown even stronger since Russian military forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
She has said in numerous interviews since then that the war in her homeland is never far from her thoughts and she mentioned that again during a trackside interview that was broadcast on the Peacock streaming service on Sunday.
“I jump for my Ukrainian people, my Ukrainian nation… I jump that world… not forget that I have war in my country.”
The 30-year-old Kipyegon had a dream season in 2023 when she set world records in the 1,500 (3:49.11), mile (4:07.64), and 5,000 (14:05.20), and became the first woman to win the 1,500 and 5,000 in the World Championships. But an injury had prevented her from running in her first meet of this season until she won the 5,000 (14:46.28) and the 1,500 (3:53.98), respectively, in the Athletics Kenya Olympic Trials in Nairobi on June 14 and 15.
Sunday’s race was her first competition since the national trials and she followed pacesetters Daniela Garcia of Spain and Charlotte Pizzo of France when Garcia led the field though 400 meters in 61.42 seconds. She was in second place when Pizzo came through two laps in 2:03.82, but she took over the lead shortly after that as Pizzo dropped out of the race.
In contrast to her world-record performances in the 1,500 meters and mile last year, Kipyegon was not well clear of the rest of the field at that point in the race.
Jessica Hull of Australia was a stride behind her when they came through 800 meters and she was still in that position when Kipyegon completed three laps in 3:04.76.
Kipyegon began to gradually open a gap on Hull with about 225 meters left in the race, but she never spurted away from her in a contest in which the top eight finishers set personal bests, with four of them running national records as well.
Kipyegon, who will try to win an unprecedented third consecutive title in the women’s 1,500 meters during the athletics portion of the Games next month, ran her final 300 meters in 44.28 seconds to cross the finish line in 3:49.04.
Hull finished second in 3:50.83, followed by Laura Muir of Great Britain in third in 3:53.79. Linden Hall of Australia placed fourth in 3:56.40 and Georgia Bell of Great Britain was fifth in 3:56.54 in the race in which a record 12 women ran under four minutes. The previous high was nine.
Kipyegon’s time gave her three of the five fastest performances in history, as well as six of the top 12.
Hull’s time was the eighth fastest ever, moved her to fifth on the all-time performer list, and obliterated the Oceania record of 3:55.97 that she had set while finishing second in the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on May 25.
Muir’s time bettered her previous British record of 3:54.50 that she had run while finishing second to Kipyegon in the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 and moved her to third on the all-time European performer list.
The race was so deep that best-ever times were recorded for places 1-3, as well as for seventh place, and for places nine through 13.
“It feels amazing to break the world record,” Kipyegon was quoted as saying on the meet website. “I am in the right direction towards the Paris Olympics. I have come from far because of the injury and recovery. After the trials I knew that I was in world record shape, I ran the fastest time in Kenya with the altitude. It showed me that I was capable of breaking the world record again.”
She then credited Hull and the vocal crowd for the roles they played in her world record.
“Jessica was really good, I felt that she was behind me and I had to be careful because you never know if something can happen,” she said. “But I just relaxed and ran my race. I knew she was strong because she had broken the area record many times. The crowd was really cheerful, that was why the energy was so strong, it was really pushing us towards the finish line.”
This was the second consecutive year that the Meeting de Paris had been home to multiple world records.
In last year’s meet, Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway set a world best of 7:54.10 in the men’s two mile before Kipyegon ran a world record of 14:05.20 in the women’s 5,000, and Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia lowered the world record to 7:52.11 in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The athletics portion of the Olympic Games will run from August 1-11, with qualifying in the women’s high jump scheduled for August 2 and first-round heats of the women’s 1,500 set for August 6.
The final of the women’s high jump will be held on August 4, with the final of the women’s 1,500 scheduled for August 10.