Mahuchikh becomes first-ever absolute world champion in high jump
Ukrainian Yaroslava Mahuchikh won the women's high jump at the first-ever World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest. Thanks to the victory, the Olympic champion and world record holder became the first absolute world champion in this discipline.
The final of the women's high jump took place on Friday, September 11, on the first day of the new World Athletics tournament. Competitions in technical disciplines are held directly in final format — without qualification.
Ukraine had maximum representation in the sector: besides Mahuchikh, Iryna Gerashchenko and Yulia Levchenko also made it to the final. In total, eight athletes competed for the first-ever title. The Ukrainians' opponents were Australians Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson, Serbian Angelina Topic, Jamaican Lamara Distin, and Poland's Maria Zodzik.
The main battle was expected between Mahuchikh and the two Australians. The Ukrainian entered the season's final competition with the best result of the year — 2.03 m indoors. Olyslagers and Patterson had jumped 2.02 m during the summer season. Notably, a few days before the tournament, Patterson beat Mahuchikh in the Diamond League final.
For Mahuchikh, Budapest was already a special city in her career. It was here in 2023 that the Ukrainian first became world champion outdoors. A year later, she won the Olympic Games in Paris, and shortly before the Olympics she set a world record by clearing 2.10 m. This remains the world record in the women's high jump.
In 2026, Mahuchikh again approached the main start of the season among the leaders of world athletics. In January, she jumped 2.03 m in Lviv, and in the spring she won the World Indoor Championships in Torun. In August, the Ukrainian also became the European champion.
First Ultimate World Championship
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is a brand new tournament of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Its first edition takes place in Budapest from September 11 to 13, 2026, and the competition is planned to be held every two years as the climax of the athletics season.
The organizers brought together current Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League final winners, and the strongest athletes in the world rankings. 381 athletes from 65 federations came to Budapest, competing in 28 disciplines.
In technical events, the program is deliberately reduced to eight participants, which should bring together almost all the strongest representatives of the discipline in one final. Mahuchikh received an automatic spot as the reigning Olympic champion of Paris-2024.
Another feature of the tournament is its record prize fund. World Athletics allocated $10 million for the competition — the largest sum for a single athletics tournament. The winner of each individual discipline receives $150,000, second place gets $75,000, third — $40,000.
Thus, the victory in Budapest brought Mahuchikh not only the first-ever title of absolute world champion, but also $150,000 in prize money.
Instead of medals — only a trophy for the winner
The Ultimate Championship has another unusual rule: the tournament abandoned traditional gold, silver and bronze medals. World Athletics decided to emphasize the concept of determining one strongest athlete in each discipline.
Only the winner receives a special trophy. All participants also receive a personalized commemorative bracelet-sign, which the champion can integrate into their trophy. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe explained that this system matches the idea of the tournament — to identify one "ultimate champion", not to reproduce a traditional world championship with a usual podium.
Thus, Mahuchikh didn't just win another international competition: her name will remain in the history of the new tournament as the name of the first female athlete to receive the title of absolute world champion in women's high jump.
For Ukraine, the competitions in Budapest do not end there. Five Ukrainian track and field athletes qualified for the first Ultimate World Championship: Mahuchikh, Gerashchenko, Levchenko, hammer thrower Mykhaylo Kokhan, and high jumper Oleh Doroshchuk. The men's high jump final with Doroshchuk is scheduled for September 13.
Sources: World Athletics, official World Athletics final announcement, Suspilne Sport.
