Yaroslava Mahuchikh visited her former sports school in Dnipro

During the winter break, Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh returned to her hometown of Dnipro and visited the sports school where her journey toward world records and championship titles began. There, the world record holder met with coaches and young athletes.

Yaroslava Mahuchikh visited the Specialized Children’s and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve No. 3 in Dnipro, where she first began practicing track and field.

Her mentor, Tetyana Stepanova, still works as a coach at this school. During the competitive season, she accompanies her star pupil on trips to international tournaments.

The director of the sports school, Oleksandr Zhukov, noted that it has been ten years since little Yaroslava first came here for training.

He dedicated these heartfelt words to the athlete:

“All your first steps, doubts, and victories were born within these walls—because home truly has a special power. From here, you set out to conquer the world, and your star shone so brightly on the sporting Olympus that you won all the highest honors and broke the world record,” wrote the director of the Children’s and Youth Sports School of Olympic Reserve.

Judging by the photos from the meeting, Mahuchikh spoke with young athletes who are just beginning their journey in track and field and dream of achieving successes like her own.

In 2026, Yaroslava Mahuchikh was unable to repeat or break her world record in the high jump—2 meters 10 centimeters.

At the same time, the Ukrainian track and field athlete claimed victories at the season’s three major events: the World Indoor Championships in Toruń, the European Championships in Birmingham, and the first-ever World Championships in Budapest.

Returning to the sports school gave Maguchikh an opportunity to reflect on the beginning of her career and meet the people who helped her on her path to international recognition.

The school’s director, Oleksandr Zhukov, shared details about the visit to SDYUSSHOR No. 3 on Instagram.

Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh will begin training for the 2027 season on October 15. The athlete has identified the European Indoor Championships, which will take place March 4–7 in Valencia, Spain, as her main competition at the start of the new athletic year.

Prior to this, Ukrainian track and field athlete Yaroslava Mahuchikh won gold in the high jump at the 2026 European Championships in Birmingham.