Mahuchikh pips Olyslagers in Silesia Diamond League high jump

Kuwait Times

a day ago

Grand Slam Track won't happen in 2026 until athletes paid for 2025
CHORZOW: Ukraine's Olympic and world champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh notched up her 22nd Diamond League victory in a high jump shoot-out with Australian Nicola Olyslagers in Katowice on Friday.
The women's high jump was one of three disciplines along with the women's shot put and women's pole vault that were held in the main square of the southwestern Polish city. The main Silesia Diamond League meet will be held in neighboring Chorzow on Saturday, when Olympic champion Noah Lyles goes head-to-head with Jamaica's Kishane Thompson in a much-anticipated re-match of last year's Paris Games 100m final.
The high jump predictably turned into a battle between the two clear favorites. Mahuchikh cleared 2.00 meters at her second attempt to heap the pressure on her Australian rival, the two-time defending indoor champion who won silver medals at the last two Olympics.
But it proved to be too much and Olyslagers had to be content with second place in 1.97m behind the world record holder who has now bagged three wins on the circuit this season. Germany's Imke Onnen was a distant third with a best of 1.91m.
Only three other jumpers of the 10-strong field made the 1.88m mark in blistering heat and in front of a big crowd packed into temporary stands. Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands wrapped up victory in the women's shot put with a best of 19.66m on her fifth of six attempts.
The two-time European champion saw off competition from Germany's reigning Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye (19.50m), with American Maggie Ewen rounding out the podium, a further centimeter adrift. Victory in the pole vault went to France's Marie-Julie Bonnin, who managed a best of 4.70m. She failed three times at what would have been a new personal best of 4.77m. Hungary's Hanga Klekner took second with 4.60m on countback from Americans Brynn King and Hana Moll.
Meanwhile, the financially troubled Grand Slam Track circuit will not take place in 2026 until athletes awaiting prize money for this year are paid, its founder Michael Johnson said on Friday. Johnson admitted in a statement 'we are struggling with our ability to compensate' athletes from the three meetings that took place in 2025 in Kingston, Jamaica, Miami and Philadelphia.
The four-time Olympic sprint gold medallist said he had taken the decision to cancel the fourth and final meeting in Los Angeles 'to avoid further losses and start the lengthy process of stabilising the company to get back on track.
'But unfortunately, we saw circumstances change in ways beyond our control,' he said. He added: 'The 2026 season will not happen until those obligations are met—and that is my #1 priority.' Johnson said he had held talks with new investors and he remained 'confident' about the future of Grand Slam.
'We're not done yet. Not even close,' he said. Johnson launched Grand Slam as an alternative to the Diamond League series of international meetings with an important difference—it would only feature track events and no field events.
He promised a more concentrated format with more head-to-head races between the world's best athletes. However, while the series was able to recruit stars such as US Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas and 400m hurdles world record holder and double Olympic gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, it failed to recruit a host of top sprinting talent including the reigning men's and women's 100m champions Noah Lyles and Julien Alfred.
The series offered athletes prize money of up to $100,000 for their overall standings after participating in two races at each meet. Athletes were pictured holding up giant cheques showing how much money they had won.
However, while the competitors expressed enthusiasm for the series, there were clear signs it had failed to capture the imagination of fans. There were Swathes of empty seats at the opening meeting in Kingston, while for the third meeting in Philadelphia, the programme was cut from three days to two. – AFP