THE world athletics merry-go-round never stops and this week it swings past the year’s biggest event, the world championships in Budapest Hungary.
And our own, Eleanor Patterson, is competing in the Women’s High Jump, kicking off with the qualifying round on Day 7 of the championships, this Friday, August 25, at 6.20pm Australian time.
And you can see all the action on live and free on SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand, with a full viewing schedule to be on Athletics Australia.
The starting list includes three Australians, one a rising star, teenager Erin Shaw, another, the reigning Olympic Silver Medallist Nicola Olyslagers in top form this season and the other a former world champion, Eleanor Patterson, who is in building form after breaking a bone in her foot earlier this year.
She recently posted a Season Best of 1.96m, the automatic qualifying for the world championship final being 1.94m or finishing in the top 12 of 35.
All three women have claims on doing that with Erin Shaw’s SB this year also her personal best of 1.90m, Eleanor’s SB of 1.96 and Nicola the leading competitor of the year this season, with 2.02m in recent competition.
But there’s a standout competitor in the field, one with it all to play for, the Ukrainian Yaroslava Mahuchikh who also has a season best of 2.02m and a PB of 2.06m.
Eleanor has beaten her before in competition, but you’d have to think the Ukrainian has more on the line this time around, given the terrible strife in her own country.
Her compatriot Yuliia Levchenko has the same PB as Eleanor Patterson, and Nicola Olyslagers of 2.02m, but the top two Australians have claims on a podium finish if Eleanor can recapture some of her best.
The final is on Monday, August 28, starting early on SBS at 4.05am but with these events having a habit of lasting for several hours, you might be able to catch the last jumps before going to work – hopefully Eleanor is up there with them at that stage.
In a formidable field of competitors, Patterson and Olyslagers have had differing journeys to Budapest this year, as the world champion continues to build back to top form after her injury while the Olympic silver medallist travels to the Hungarian city with nine wins from 10 starts in 2023.
“It adds a bit of pressure, but at the same time, you can pick and choose what you take on board,” former world gold medallist Patterson said to Athletics Australia.
“My biggest focus right now is the fact that I’m in one piece and jumping really well, and really, really happy to be competing. No matter what title is attached to my name, it’s still just high jump and anything can happen on the day. I’m excited to bring forth whatever I can on the day and come back and defend my title.”
Mindset is everything for the world champion. With the pendulum swinging between the pair over the past two years plus the added layer of two Ukrainians reaching heights over two-metres this year, Patterson is aware of her competition but remains confident in her strengths.
“Obviously going into last year, I was an underdog but just like last year, I’m certainly hungry to fight for it. After my injury this year, I feel like I’m finally returning to the old Eleanor. It hasn’t been an easy journey to be able to bring to fruition the big jumps but I have huge things I know I can achieve. I have done it before, and I just revel in those circumstances,” she said to Athletics Australia.
Olyslagers won’t be resting on her laurels as world leader. Over a representative career spanning nearly a decade, 2022 was the first year she was unable to achieve a personal best, but remains self-assured knowing she has climbed back to the top.
“Last year taught me the importance of character, because your character really determines what you’re going to do in the moment of someone jumping amazingly or when I’m jumping amazingly,” Olyslagers said.
“It’s not a walk in the park. The journey coming up there to world leader was quite difficult to get to that place because I don’t think I’ve ever really maintained a world leader status before.
“I don’t want to settle and fall back on that as confidence but really strive and push for something new because the other girls that I’m versing have done things that I haven’t been able to before. I’ve never won a world championship, I’ve never cracked 2.05m and they’ve all done things that have really paved the path for me to dream a bit bigger and not limit myself to two-metres.”
Fourth-place getter at the 2022 World Athletics Under 20 Championships, 18-year-old Erin Shaw rounds out the Australian contingent in the field as she follows in the footsteps of her inspirational compatriots.
Having completed her first season abroad alongside training partners and mentors, Patterson and Brandon Starc, Shaw steps into the limelight of global athletics with a personal and season’s best of 1.90m indoors.
“It’s been a good experience and fun to compete in different countries. To follow and compete with Eleanor and Brandon, they’re amazing athletes so I’m very grateful to learn from them, especially since they competed at their first world championships as teens as well,” Shaw said.
“The goal is to jump high – I know it sounds kind of silly but making it here was the big goal and I’ve done that. I want to enjoy the experience, jump something I’m proud of and go from there.”
The trio agree that the Budapest edition of the World Championships will be one of the most competitive yet.