Stefka Kostadinova's world record of 209 centimeters fell after nearly 37 years. At the Diamond League tournament in Paris, the Ukrainian representative in the high jump, Yaroslava Maguchych, cleared 210 centimeters. She broke the record after already securing the gold medal in the event. Stefka Kostadinova set her world record at the World Championships in Rome on August 30, 1987. Now, after the Ukrainian, the Australian Nikola Olisagers took second place with 201 centimeters, and Angelina Topic from Serbia came third with 198 centimeters. How records fall… The legendary Yordanka Blagoeva speaks to FACTS.
- Mrs. Blagoeva, the world record in the high jump, which was held by Stefka Kostadinova in Bulgaria for 37 years, has fallen? How do you take it…
- Records don't fall. Records are meant to be broken. Stefka's record remains, as does mine of 194 cm. They are and will be eternal. Otherwise, I am glad that Stefka's record of 209 cm. is now improved. This means that the sport is moving forward, developing and above all our discipline. I can see that there was a lot of controversy in the public space, but the truth is that the girl just went and jumped and improved it. And Maguchich did it in a Diamond League contest. A high class race, not to say it's some country race. So I am very happy and especially proud that Stefka Kostadinova was the first to congratulate her.
- It was indeed a very sportsmanlike gesture…
- There is a wonderful word in sports and it is called – fair play. Look, it's very easy to win, but it's very important to show honor and dignity when you lose. Stefka Kostadinova has by no means lost. We simply have the fact that the Bulgarian record was improved. It was the same feeling when they improved Yordanka Donkova's record. (b.r. - the phenomenal world record of the Bulgarian athlete Yordanka Donkova went down in history in 2016. Her achievement in the 100 meters hurdles was improved by the American Kendra Harrison during the Diamond League tournament in London. In 1988 Donkova ran the distance in 12.21 seconds. In London, Harrison crossed the finish line in 12.20 seconds) I can share that I was pregnant with my daughter Iliana when Akerman broke my record of 194 cm. (b.b.- 1974 jumps 195 cm ) Then you – the journalists, you immediately started calling: “ Danche, are you angry… Are you sorry…“ What to regret! This means that a discipline is developing, that it is going up. There is no room for regrets, there is only room for congratulations.
Jaroslava Maguchich and Stefka Kostadinova
- What qualities should an athlete possess in order to improve such a record?
- The basis is work. I think so. And the good coach, of course. The good coach, but not only as a coach, but also as a teacher, as a psychologist. Many competitors today already have psychologists in their staff. But I think the most important here is the role of the coach. My trainer helped me reach this score of 194 after 12 years of training. Work and perseverance – it comes first. Of course, in sports there is always a little chance. When I jumped 194 cm and set a world record in Zagreb, the stadium was full. And the audience helps a lot. Yes, it turned out later that there was going to be a football match after our race. But that doesn't matter. It's just that the audience helped a lot then. Every competitor wants to show off. I think it's in human nature. To prove that you are the best, that you can achieve more, that you can overcome yourself.
- But for 37 years no one else succeeded, and many competitors tried. And again I return to the qualities. What do you have to have to set records?
- What the Ukrainian woman did is a bit surprising. You know that Stefka jumped 209 cm, after many times she had jumped 207, 208 cm. Maybe it's a day, maybe it's a chance, maybe it's a coincidence.
- This is always the case in sports. Something to happen at the right time in the right place…
- Do not get me wrong. I am not commenting that this record is accidental. But suddenly from 204 cm, from 205 cm it jumped to 210 cm. The fact itself is a fact and we have no right to comment on it. I assume that a doping test was done because the competition is high class. At one time they came and measured the bar. It's probably the same now. I see other things try to launch themselves into the public space. A few days ago, I wrote that as early as 1968, the International Olympic Committee conducted gender tests on all female athletes. Then they took secretions from the cheek to check if we were 100% female. I keep this certificate to this day. Then I even thought, until this certificate came out: “God, I hope there is nothing wrong with me“ So I guess these tests are done now and a document is issued. We remember the South African woman in the 800m who set a record that proved to have wrong hormones. b.r.- it is about the South African teenager Caster Semenya, who easily won the gold medal in the 800m at the world championships in Berlin in 2009. The IAAF then announced that she would undergo a test to determine gender, as there are suspicions that she does not meet the requirements to compete as a woman.Semenya took the lead in the mid-distance and took a comfortable lead after 400 meters to finish with a lead of 2.45 seconds, and her time was the best in the world for 1:55.45 minutes. Semenya turned out to have XY chromosomes and a naturally high level of testosterone. In 2019, the International Association of Athletics federations changed its rules to allow people with her condition to compete in the 400, 800 and 1,500 meters only with medication to lower testosterone levels, a decision Semenya appealed unsuccessfully in a number of courts) Yes, at certain people this is a normal thing.
- Maguchich is 22 years old. What should we expect from her? More records or like many athletes - do some unique achievement and then disappear?
- I would believe in this record 100% when I see how she will perform at the Olympics in France. Because the lady who broke Dancheto Donkova's world record has disappeared. She did nothing, achieved nothing after that. So it's very important to me what she achieves. She is very young, very talented – tall, thin has all the data to achieve even better results. When you repeat a good achievement several times - even if it is not 210, but close to it, and God forbid more, then no one has the right to comment on whether the record is real. So we are looking forward to the Olympics in Paris to see what Maguchich will achieve.