Scientists named an asteroid after track and field athlete Yaroslava Mahuchikh

One of the minor planets in the Solar System has been named after Ukrainian high jumper, Olympic champion, and world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh. The celestial body has been officially named (57915) Mahuchikh, as recorded in the WGSBN Bulletin asteroid catalog.

The asteroid was discovered on March 9, 2002, on Bigelow Mountain in the U.S. state of Arizona as part of the Catalina Sky Survey project. Initially, the celestial body was provisionally designated 2002 EB110.

The official description of the name highlights the key athletic achievements of the Ukrainian track and field athlete on the international stage.

In particular, Yaroslava Mahuchikh won a gold medal in the high jump at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. That same year, the athlete set a women’s world record by clearing a height of 2.10 meters.

The description also mentions Mahuchikh’s bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, which took place in 2021 and were postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asteroid (57915) Mahuchikh belongs to the group of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. These celestial bodies orbit the Sun near the orbit of the Solar System’s largest planet.

Specifically, Mahuchikh belongs to the L4 group, traditionally known as the “Greeks.” This is one of the two main groups of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, located near its Lagrange points.

As a reminder, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine has named the best athletes of September 2026. The winners are track and field athlete Yaroslava Mahuchikh and modern pentathlete Oleksandr Chernyshev.

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