Paris 2024: The incredible women to watch in high jump

The women’s high jump qualifications start in Paris this Friday (August 2), and it’s shaping up to be one of the top events to watch. It will be a fiercely contested gold, but one woman enters the field as the one to beat. 

We are of course talking about Yaroslava Mahuchikh. The Ukrainian is the world number high jumper and current record holder, with her incredible 2.10 m jump at the Paris Diamond League on July 7, 2024, as covered by World Athletics. This was a record that stood for 37 years, so it shows just what sort of form Mahuchikh is in right now.

Not only is Mahuchikh the best in the world, she represents Ukraine’s best shot at picking up a gold. For her, it’s more than just a jump, as she told the Guardian in July: “And if we win a gold medal, then it’s like we show we’ll continue fighting and we’ll never give up.”

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Right behind her, though, we have Aussie Nicola Olysagers. While Olysagers is still a fair way off Mahuchikh’s record, the 27-year-old has been on an upward trajectory in the last 12 months, winning all of her events this year – aside from the aforementioned Diamond League last month, where her 2.01 jump got her to second place behind Mahuchikh's record breaker.

That being said, she is more than a shot at gold – her personal best of 2.03, recorded at the Prefontaine Classic in September 2023, is more than enough for gold on any normal day – in fact it was tied with Mahuchikh that day – highlighting just how close these two are. 

When it comes to Olympic pedigree, few can match Serbian Angelina Topić. Her mother, three-time Olympian Biljana Topić, holds the Serbian triple jump record and her father Dragutin Topić is a six-time Olympian, a former European high jump champion and the Serbian high jump record holder.

Turning 19 on the day of the opening ceremony, Topić, coached by her father, is on the cusp of clearing 2.00 (her PB is 1.98) and has been on a rapid trajectory this past 12 months. We can’t wait to see what form she brings to her first-ever Olympics.

Another Aussie, and the 2022 World Champion, Elanor Patterson is something of a veteran on the circuit with two Olympic Games under her belt. She enters Paris as the world number four, having seen a small dip in form this past 12 months, but is always hard to beat on her day.

Another Ukranian in the field, 29-year-old Iryna Gerashchenko, has always been a gold medal threat but always fell frustratingly short in finals. Recording an average jump of 1.94 over the past year, as documented by World Athletics, she will need to step it up a notch but definitely has bigger jumps in her.

British hopeful Morgan Lake is another veteran in her third Olympic Games. Who knows what that experience at the top level can contribute to her performance? At the Budapest World Championships in 2023, she recorded a jump of 1.97 – which earned her a fourth place – so there is definitely medal potential here.

The charismatic US star is definitely going to be one to watch. Having cracked the 2.00 (indoor) mark on a number of occasions, she has to be observed as a medal threat. One for NFL fans to back too, as she is the daughter of former Philadelphia Eagles quarter back Randall Cunningham and the younger sister of fellow high jumper Randall Cunningham II.

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Jamaican hopeful Lamara Distin is another one who has also cracked the 2.00. But in her case, she most recently did so in February this year at the SEC Indoor Championships. She looks to be coming into Paris in more than respectable form.

Slovenian Lia Apostolovski has been on a steady trajectory with her competitions, and looks to be in some of the best shape of her career in 2024, and recorded a jump of 1.95 at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March this year.

Currently ranked number 10 in the world, you cannot count out German Christina Honsel from putting on a show at Paris 2024. The 27-year-old is back to her best and jumping at 1.95 after a disappointing 2023. All signs are heading in the right direction.

Finnish star Ella Junnila finds herself outside the top 10 after an average 2023, but looks to be peaking right in time for Paris, having record an outdoor jump of 1.97 in Turku in June this year.

Finally, we have Yulia Levchenko, another Ukranian who is sure to have a lot of eyes on her. While Levchenko finds herself a fair way off the mark in terms of the rest of the field – her last outdoor competition jump at the Ukrainian Championships in June saw her record a 1.86 jump – we’re not she’s a medal hopeful but is one of the most popular faces in the sport today and will have her fair share of fans on show. 

How do you rate your country's medal chances in the high jump? Can anybody challenge Yaroslava Mahuchikh for the gold? We can't wait for the action to unfold on Friday. 

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