Nicola Olyslagers raises the bar with back-to-back Diamond League victories
Moments after leaving her rivals in her wake in the Diamond League yet again, Nicola Olyslagers set the bar even higher. Australia's high-jumping royalty leapt to gold under the Parisian sky on Friday, rising over 2.00m to claim back-to-back gold medals on the world's premier athletics circuit.
It was her second jump that made the difference, relegating Ukrainian world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh to second and compatriot Eleanor Patterson to bronze. But despite her seventh success overall after her most recent win in Stockholm, Olyslagers is not entirely happy.
'Tonight was great, it was the first time we jumped so late (at night), so for mindset it can be difficult,' she said. 'I'm very thankful for another two-metre jump, but I really want a personal best, so we keep training.'
The NSW jumper has her sights set on equalling or bettering her own national record of 2.03m, one of the goals motivating her for future meets. The dual Olympic silver medallist believes one way of improving is by getting stronger.
At the top of her game tonight 🔥Nicola Olyslagers 🇦🇺 makes it another winning performance as her best jump of 2.00m gives her victory in Paris in the women's high jump.📸 Marta Gorczyńska for Diamond League AG#DiamondLeague 💎 #ParisDL 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/gey5OO0yad
'I tend to have very strong jumps in the first five jumps of the competition and then it slowly goes down,' Olyslagers said. 'Potentially, I need to work a lot more on my muscles to stay strong as I'm running towards the bar.'
Opening her competition at 1.91m, the double world indoor champion says entering any later may not be worth the risk.
'1.91 is very high,' she said. 'We need to work to find the best possibility, or some more training so I have the endurance to give my best at the end.'
Compatriot Patterson's third-place finish (1.97m) was her third Diamond League podium of 2025 and the Victorian is closing in on the two-metre barrier.
In the women's 1500m, Linden Hall finished fourth in 3:57:63 to prevail in the domestic battle including Victorians Georgia Griffith (4:01:36) and Abbey Caldwell (4:01:86). Kenya's Nelly Chepchirchir won the race in 3:57.02.
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Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino outfought Salwa Eid Naser to win the women's 400m, while Grace Stark set a personal best to outgun Tobi Amusan in the women's 100m hurdles.
Dominican Republic's Paulino needed a season's best time of 48.81, a new meeting record, as the world champion came from behind to pip Bahrain's Naser, who took silver at last year's Olympics. Nigeria's world record holder and 2022 world champion Amusan settled for second as the 24-year-old American Stark led from the start to win in 12.21 secs, knocking one-tenth of a second off her personal best.
Next stop in the Diamond League, which offers significant world ranking points, is in Eugene, Oregon, on 5 July.
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