Final was held in heavy rain on SundayCaused several delays and disruptions Aussie finally got the gold she has been chasing
Nicola Olyslagers has come full circle and been rewarded with a richly-deserved high jump gold medal at the world championships, one that was chronicled in a soggy notebook.
Even more importantly for the committed Christian, the world title doesn’t change the really important stuff.
Olyslagers produced a near-flawless performance in the rain to win Australia’s only gold medal in Tokyo on Sunday’s final day, eight years after she failed to clear a single bar on her world championships debut in London.
‘I’ve seen year-by-year a gradual performance up,’ said Olyslagers, who won gold on countback from Poland’s Maria Zodzik.
‘But when I came last, I remember standing out there and I had so much peace because I knew that my performance didn’t determine my identity and value.
‘So then coming in as world No.1, the pressure was off because I knew that if you can’t lose anything when you come last, you can’t gain anything when you come first. So let’s go out there and do it.’
Nicola Olyslagers claims her long-awaited world championship gold in Tokyo, conquering the rain-soaked high jump final
Eight years after failing to clear a bar, Olyslagers completes her redemption with a flawless gold medal performance
Living up to her world No.1 ranking, the 29-year-old Australian cleared her first three heights at the first attempt on Sunday.
The competition was then postponed twice due to heavy rain showers, enough to shred the nerves of the most experienced competitors.
But Olyslagers could not be denied.
There were only three jumpers still in contention when competition resumed after the second rain delay – Olyslagers, Ukrainian world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Zodzik.
Olyslagers had three close unsuccessful attempts at 2.02m but it didn’t matter as Zodzik and Mahuchikh couldn’t clear that bar either.
Reigning world and Olympic champion Mahuchikh and Serbia’s Angelina Topic tied for the bronze on 1.97m and Australian Eleanor Patterson, the 2022 world champ, tied for fifth on countback at 1.97m.
It was the outdoor global championships gold that Olyslagers had chased for so long, having finished second at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and third at the 2023 world championships in Budapest.
She has been the dominant jumper in the world this year, winning a second World Indoors title and claiming the Diamond League crown with an Australian record of 2.04m last month in Zurich.
A key for Olyslagers was keeping her focus during the rain delays.
‘It wasn’t a holiday; it was more of a battleground,’ said the Australian, who is famous for making notes in her journal between jumps.
‘To come back with a very saturated notebook and a gold medal, it’s wonderful.’
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Aussie Nicole Olyslagers soars to high jump gold in Tokyo
AloJapan.com