Eugene, Oregon, July 20 (BUS): Australian Eleanor Patterson chose the perfect time to make the best jump of her life as he equaled Oceania’s record of 2.02m to win the surprise gold medal at the world high jump championships.
Patterson twice failed at 1.98 metres, once at her previous best of 2.00, but passed 2.02 on the first attempt, taking her from fourth to first, Reuters reports.
With her rivals stumbling afterward, she proved enough to earn the gold medal in the countdown against Ukrainian favorite Yaroslava Mahochich, who needed two attempts to gain the same height before both athletes failed to cross 2.04 metres.
Italy’s Elena Valortegara was error-free up to 2.00 metres, and although she couldn’t go further, she took bronze in the countdown from Ukraine’s Irina Gerashenko.
“It’s crazy, 2.02, I don’t know what happened,” Patterson said. “Many girls did two meters and it was a great performance from everyone. I’m very happy to get past 2.02. I’m very proud of myself and my team.”
Olympic and triple world champion Maria Lasitskene was absent due to the ban on Russian athletes in Eugene.