Aussie silver medallist makes tribute to Ukrainian athlete who fled her war-torn country to win gold

Every athlete goes through hardship to reach the pinnacle in their sport. 

Australian high jump silver medallist Eleanor Patterson is no exception, but as she clutched her silver medal from the recent at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, she knew the woman who bested her had done it much harder than the rest of the field.

Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh claimed gold at the event, but only after a 2000km ordeal to escape her war-ravaged country that included hiding in a cellar to escape detection by invading Russian forces.

Patterson swore blue and yellow nail polish at the medal ceremony in tribute to Mahuchikh and the people of Ukraine. 

And while she felt pride in her own achievement, it was Mahuchikh she was truly proud of.

Olympic bronze medallist Mahuchikh hid in a cellar for three panic-stricken days prior to travelling 2000km to Belgrade, where the Championships were held.

Hundreds of phone calls, several changes of itinerary, explosions, fires, and air raid sirens couldn’t prevent the reigning European indoor high jump champion from reaching Serbia with her team.

Patterson knew it was a miracle that her rival was even able to attend the Championships, let alone compete and win. So she paid special tribute to Mahuchikh and the hardships she had endured. 

‘It felt like a special competition out there,’ Patterson said.

‘The hardships the Ukrainian athletes have gone through, no one deserves to go through.

‘The journey they’ve gone on just to get here is incredible. There’s nothing I can do to change the situation (in Ukraine) but I feel for them hugely.

‘I’m incredibly proud of Yaroslava and what’s she’s been able to do here – amazing.’

ustralian high jump silver medalist Eleanor Patterson with her nails painted blue and yellow to pay tribute to Ukrainian athletes who are doing it tough.

 The 25-year-old from Leongatha, Victoria extended her tribute to include all Ukranian athletes that were persevering despite what was happening back home.

‘Obviously, I was somewhere safe and didn’t have those threats of bombs and all those kind of things,’ she said.

‘So to see them here and performing so well was a really emotional moment.

‘You’re out there competing but you can’t help but have such respect for all the Ukrainians here, my heart goes out to them that’s for sure.

‘I painted my nails blue and yellow because I wanted to show them some support!’

Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh claims gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships after fleeing 2000km from her war-torn nation to take part in the event.

In the latest news on the conflict, Russia has called on Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to lay down their arms, saying a ‘terrible humanitarian catastrophe’ was unfolding.

Russia said defenders who did lay down their arms were guaranteed safe passage out of the city and humanitarian corridors would be opened from it at 10am Moscow time (7am GMT) on Monday.

Fighting continued inside the besieged city today, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said, without elaborating. 

Russia and Ukraine have made agreements throughout the war on humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians, but have accused each other of frequent violations of those.