SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who was forced to flee her country due to the war with Russia, won gold at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
She had the perfect partner to celebrate with: teammate Iryna Gerashchenko, who shared the bronze medal. The pair ran down the track waiving Ukrainian flags, just the two of them, prompting a standing ovation at Stade de France.
It was Ukraine’s first individual gold of these Summer Games, following a victory in women’s team saber fencing.
It was a big night for Ukraine in track and field, with Mykhaylo Kokhan claiming a bronze medal in the hammer throw, too — doubling the country’s medal haul from three to six overall.
The three Ukrainians shared a huge hug after the hammer throw was decided, then posed together on the track with blue and yellow flags.
Mahuchikh cleared 2.00 meters to finish ahead of Nicola Olyslagers of Australia, who also cleared 2.00 but then failed all three of her attempts at 2.02.
Eleanor Patterson of Australia and Gerashchenko shared the bronze at 1.95.
Mahuchikh considered jumping again and could have tried to break the world record of 2.10 that she set less than a month ago in another Paris stadium. But then she stopped and started celebrating. Gerashchenko rushed over with a blue and yellow flag and wrapped them both up in it.
Mahuchikh is from Dnipro, a city of nearly 1 million located only about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the front lines of the war. When the war started, she piled as much as she could into her car and left town quickly. On her way out, she heard gunfire and could, at times, see shells raining down miles away.
Mahuchikh claimed the first Olympic gold of her career, adding to the bronze she won in Tokyo. She also won gold at last year’s world championships.
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