Mahuchikh opens with 2.03m clearance in Lviv

Ukraine’s Olympic high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh opened her season by clearing 2.03m on home soil at the Demyanyuk Memorial in Lviv on Saturday (17).

The 24-year-old set the early world-leading mark on her third attempt to match the sixth-highest winning mark of her career so far. It is her best clearance since the world record height of 2.10m she achieved in July 2024.

Mahuchikh opened her competition at 1.91m and cleared that bar and 1.96m on her first attempts. She needed two tries to make it over 2.00m before clearing 2.03m on her third attempt.

Oleh Doroshchuk won the men’s competition by clearing 2.24m.

Italy’s European indoor long jump champion Larissa Iapichino soared 6.93m at the Memorial Alessio Giovannini, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Challenger meeting, in Ancona on Saturday (17).

It is the 23-year-old’s farthest-ever season opener and just 4 centimetres off her indoor personal best. Her outdoor best of 7.06m was set in Palermo last year. She also jumped 6.74m and 6.57m in Ancona.

Results

English and Van der Weken among winners in Luxembourg

Mark English ran 1:44.65 to improve his Irish indoor 800m record at the CMCM Luxembourg Indoor Meeting, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver event, on Sunday (18).

The multiple European medallist's winning performance equalled the meeting record set last year and he won ahead of Poland's Maciej Wyderka (1:45.38).

Racing on home soil, world indoor bronze medallist Patrizia van der Weken clocked 7.14 to claim her fourth successive 60m victory at the event. She also finished third (23.28) in a 200m won by Spain's Paula Sevilla in 23.16.

Luxembourg's Fanny Arendt won the 800m in a national indoor record of 2:00.83, while Belgium's Pieter Sisk won the 1500m in a meeting record of 3:34.66. Poland's Jakub Szymanski retained his 60m hurdles title in 7.48 ahead of Elie Bacari and Enrique Llopis (7.50).

Results

Over in Reno, USA, on Friday (16), Zach Bradford cleared 5.90m to win at the UCS Spirit National Pole Vault Summit on countback ahead of North American record-holder KC Lightfoot.

At the Corky Classic in Lubbock, 2022 world U20 110m hurdles champion Antoine Andrews matched the Bahamian record by clocking 7.49 to win the 60m hurdles. His compatriot Terrence Jones won the men’s 60m in 6.58 and Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith ran 7.18 in the women’s 60m.

Jamaica’s Olympic and world 100m silver medallist Kishane Thompson started his year with a 60m win in 6.52 (1.2m/s) at the Puma JAAA Fuller Anderson Development Meet in Spanish Town on Saturday (17).

Olympic 100m finalist Tia Clayton clocked 7.02 (1.2m/s) in the women's event ahead of Jonielle Smith (7.06).

Australia’s 19-year-old Cameron Myers clocked a 3:49.81 season opener in the mile in Seattle.