WCH Tokyo 25 facts and figures: women's high jump

Last three sets of World Athletics Championships medallists

2023 – 1 Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) 2.01m, 2 Eleanor Patterson (AUS) 1.99m, 3 Nicola Olyslagers (AUS) 1.99m
2022 – 1 Eleanor Patterson (AUS) 2.02m, 2 Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) 2.02m, 3 Elena Vallortigara (ITA) 2.00m
2019 – 1 Mariya Lasitskene (ANA/RUS) 2.04m, 2 Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) 2.04m, 3 Vashti Cunningham (USA) 2.00m

Last two sets of Olympic medallists

2024 – 1 Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) 2.00m, 2 Nicola Olyslagers (AUS) 2.00m, =3 Iryna Herashchenko (UKR) / Eleanor Patterson (AUS) 1.95m
2020 – 1 Mariya Lasitskene (ROC/RUS) 2.04m, 2 Nicola McDermott/Olyslagers (AUS) 2.02m, 3 Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) 2.00m 

Highest winning jumps in World Athletics Championships history:

2.09m – Stefka Kostadinova (BUL), 1987
2.06m – Hestrie Cloete (RSA), 2003
2.05m – Heike Henkel (GER), 1991

Lowest winning jump in World Athletics Championships history

1.99m – Ioamnet Quintero (CUB), 1993
1.99m – Hanne Haugland (NOR), 1997
1.99m – Inga Babakova (UKR), 1999

Best marks on Japanese soil:

2.05m 1 Heike Henkel (GER) - Tokyo (World Championships) 31.08.1991
2.05m 1 Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) - Fukuoka 18.09.1993
2.05m 1 Inga Babakova (UKR) - Tokyo 15.09.1995
2.05m 1 Blanka Vlašić (CRO) - Osaka (World Championships) 02.09.2007

Best marks on Asian soil

2.05m 1 Heike Henkel (GER) - Tokyo (World Championships) 31.08.1991
2.05m 1 Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) - Fukuoka 18.09.1993
2.05m 1 Inga Babakova (UKR) - Tokyo 15.09.1995
2.05m 1 Blanka Vlašić (CRO) - Osaka (World Championships) 02.09.2007
2.05m 1 Tia Hellebaut (BEL) - Beijing (Olympics) 23.08.2008
2.05m 2 Blanka Vlašić (CRO) - Beijing (Olympics) 23.08.2008
2.05m 1 Blanka Vlašić (CRO) - Doha 08.05.2009

Biggest winning margins

0.07m 1991 – 2.05m Heike Henkel (GER), 1.98m Yelena Yelesina (URS/RUS)
0.06m 2003 – 2.06m Hestrie Cloete (RSA), 2.00m Marina Kuptsova (RUS)
0.05m 1987 – 2.09m Stefka Kostadinova (BUL), 2.04m Tamara Bykova (URS)

​​Smallest winning margins

0.00m 1999 – 1.99m Inga Babakova (UKR), 1.99m Yelena Yelesina (RUS)
0.00m 2001 – 2.00m Hestrie Cloete (RSA), 2.00m Inga Babakova (UKR)
0.00m 2011 – 2.03m Anna Chicherova (RUS), 2.03m Blanka Vlašić (CRO)
0.00m 2015 – 2.01m Mariya Kuchina/Lasitskene (RUS), 2.01m Blanka Vlašić (CRO)
0.00m 2019 – 2.04m Mariya Lasitskene (ANA/RUS), 2.04m Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)
0.00m 2022 – 2.02m Eleanor Patterson (AUS), 2.02m Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)

Best mark by round

Qualifying: 1.95m (25 athletes)
Final: 2.09m Stefka Kostadinova (BUL), 1987

Multiple winners

1987/95 - Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)
2001/03 - Hestrie Cloete (RSA)
2007/09 - Blanka Vlašić (CRO)
2015/17/19 - Mariya Lasitskene (ANA/RUS)

Winners by country

4 - Russia (inc. ANA)
2 - Bulgaria
2 - Ukraine
2 - South Africa
2 - Croatia
1 - Soviet Union
1 - Germany
1 - Cuba
1 - Norway
1 - Sweden
1 - United States
1 - Australia

Five historic facts

Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) broke the world record with 2.09m at the 1987 World Championships, a mark that stood until 2024 when Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) cleared 2.10m in the Paris Diamond League

The 1991 and 2007 World Championships in Tokyo and Osaka respectively were both won with 2.05m by Heike Henkel and Blanka Vlasic (CRO) respectively

The 1997 World Championships in Athens was notable for ending in a three-way jump off won by Hanne Haugland (NOR) at 1.99m

Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) became the event's youngest medallist when she won silver in 2019 at 18y/11d

Ukraine has won this title on two occasions courtesy of Inga Babakova in 1999 and Mahuchikh in 2023

Potential storylines

• Can Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) become the fifth woman to win multiple women's high jump titles at the World Championships?
• After Hamish Kerr (NZL) won the men's high jump title, can Nicola Olyslagers or Eleanor Patterson (AUS) make it an Oceanian double with gold in the women's high jump?
• Can Morgan Lake (GBR) become the first British medallist in the women's high jump in World Championships history?
• Can Yuliia Levchenko (UKR) win her second global outdoor medal eight years after winning silver in 2017?
• Five athletes on the entry-list have cleared 2.00m or higher in 2025
• Fatoumata Balley (GUI) becomes the first ever athlete from Guinea, male or female, to qualify for a World Championships final in any event
• Marija Vukovic (MNE) also becomes the first ever athlete from Montenegro, male or female, to qualify for a World Championships final in any event
• The Zurich Diamond League in 2025 was the first time since the 2022 World Championships that four athletes have jumped 2.00m or higher in the same competition