TOKYO (AP) \u2014 Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine won only a bronze medal Sunday in the high jump on the final day of the world championships in Tokyo.<\/p>\n
Of course, she was disappointed. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t the result I wanted,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She is, after all, the defending Olympic champion<\/a> and the world-record holder in the event (2.10 meters). She was also the defending champion from the 2023 worlds in Budapest.<\/a><\/p>\n But she has a much more important, high-visibility job.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel I\u2019m an ambassador for Ukraine,\u201d she said. \u201cThe war in Ukraine continues and athletes try to do their best to attract attention, to show we are a strong nation, and we\u2019ll never give up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so thankful to the Ukrainian people for supporting and watching in this difficult time,\u201d she added, \u201cto find the time to watch track and field.\u201d<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s high jump was interrupted several times by heavy downpours in Tokyo, a minor distraction compared to life in Ukraine and in Mahuchikh\u2019s hometown of Dnipro. <\/p>\n People are pelted there almost daily with rockets and missiles, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll I can say is it\u2019s tough conditions all over Ukraine,\u201d she said, a yellow and blue Ukrainian flag draped over her shoulders. \u201cEvery day a rocket attack. Every night a rocket attack. People are not sleeping. Yesterday, it was a missile attack in my city.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing has changed from 2022,\u201d she added. \u201cWe continue fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n Nicola Olyslagers of Australia won gold with a jump of 2 meters with silver for Maria Zodzik of Poland also at 2 meters. Mahuchikh shared bronze with Angelina Topic of Serbia, tied at 1.97 meters.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s such an honor to share a medal with such an athlete,\u201d Topic said. \u201cSuch an honor for my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Mahuchikh, who turned 24 just a few days ago, said she hasn\u2019t been home in almost a year, training in Portugal and Estonia with an apartment in Belgium. <\/p>\n She described what it might be like trying to remain and train in Ukraine amid daily bombardment \u2014 or fear of bombardment.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand if I want to get results \u2014 to get medals \u2014 I should train outside because in Ukraine every time there is a rocket attack and you go to a shelter,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to train to get the highest results.\u201d<\/p>\n She said her family left the country to visit her earlier this year. She\u2019s planning a trip home this fall and said death from the war has not touched her family.<\/p>\n \u201cMy family is in Ukraine and they want to be in Ukraine,\u201d she said \u201cAnd if I wouldn\u2019t be an athlete I\u2019d be in Ukraine because it\u2019s my country. My family in Dnipro says if they die it\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n