The 8th stage of the Diamond League—a highly prestigious athletics series that gathers the sport's global elite—was held in Paris. For Kazakhstan’s Nadezhda Dubovitskaya, it was a chance to establish herself among the sport’s stars.
The women’s high jump was one of the featured events in the Paris leg on 20 June, with 13 athletes taking part. Kazakhstani high jumper Nadezhda Dubovitskaya finished in 13th place. More disappointing than the placement itself, perhaps, was her final result—1.78 metres.
The caliber of the competition was underscored by the presence of last year’s Olympic medalists: Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh (gold), and Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson. These three were the central figures in the event.
This time, Mahuchikh had to settle for second place, as Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers took the win with a 2.00 metre jump. Mahuchikh cleared 1.97, as did Eleanor Patterson, who finished third due to needing more attempts at that height than the Ukrainian.
Uzbekistan’s Safina Sadullaeva placed 10th with a 1.88 jump. French jumper Solène Gicquel and Ukraine’s Yuliia Levchenko took 11th and 12th with 1.83. Notably, Gicquel won the indoor meet in Astana in January (1.88) held in memory of Amin Tuyakov.
As for Dubovitskaya, she cleared 1.78 on her first attempt, but failed all three tries at 1.83. Her participation in the Diamond League stage had been known for at least several weeks. Still, regardless of the factors that affected her performance in Paris, an event of this level demands a serious approach—and a result of 1.78 simply isn’t good enough. Next time, she might not get invited.
But… what’s done is done. The key now is to draw the right conclusions and aim for greater heights.
In the photo: Nadezhda Dubovitskaya at the Diamond League stage in Paris.
