Yaroslava dedicated the prize to her compatriots.
Olympic high jump champion Yaroslava Maguchikh commented on winning the title the best European track and field athlete of 2024.
The 23-year-old Ukrainian decided to dedicate the honorary prize to her compatriots. The athlete said this at the European Athletics Awards ceremony, which took place on October 26 in Skopje.
“This has been one of the most successful years for me. Of course, it's an honor to be here and finally receive this award. It's like a return to 2019, when I received the Rising Star award, and it pushed me to keep working, to keep studying, and now I've received my award.
Of course, this is a special moment for me. Especially in this difficult time for Ukraine. But I'm happy to be here, and this award is for all Ukrainians. And I hope that now it will bring a little bit of happiness. And I hope that I will give a little bit more motivation to our younger generation to work further.
This was, I think, the most successful year for me. Because a lot of dreams came true. Especially the world record and the Olympic gold medal for my country.
But for me, as an athlete and a Ukrainian, every victory is important, because this is my opportunity to talk about the situation in my country, about the fact that we continue to fight on different fields,” said Maguchikh.
For the first time in her career, Yaroslava was recognized as the best athlete of the year in Europe. In the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the Ukrainian was a finalist in the nomination, but did not become a laureate of the prestigious award.
Recall that this season, Maguchikh won gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, won gold at the European Championships and silver at the World Indoor Championships, and also became the champion of the Diamond League, winning all the stages in which she took part.
At the beginning of July this year, Maguchikh broke the world record in the women's high jump. At the Diamond League stage, she won gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, won silver at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, won gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, won silver at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and won the gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. league in Paris, the Ukrainian was the first in history to clear a height of 2.10 meters. Yaroslava surpassed the achievement of Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova, who jumped 2.09 meters at the 1987 World Championships in Rome.