Mariya Lasitskene

Olympic and World Championship gold medalist Mariya Lasitskene is a Russian athlete who competes in the high jump. She is a three-time world champion (2015, 2017 and 2019) and the 2020 Olympic champion. After Stefka Kostadinova, Heike Henkel, and Anna Chicherova, Lasitskene is the fourth female high jumper in history to have won gold at both the Olympic Games and the World Championships.

Lasitskene was born in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. She began her career as a heptathlete, but later switched to focus exclusively on the high jump. Lasitskene’s first major international medal came at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, where she won bronze. The following year, Lasitskene won gold at the 2013 Summer Universiade. She also won her first European title that year, taking gold at the 2013 European Athletics U23 Championships. In 2014, Lasitskene won her first major senior title, taking gold at the 2014 European Athletics Championships. She also won a silver medal at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Lasitskene continued her success in 2015, winning gold at both the 2015 IAAF World Championships and the 2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships. She also took gold at the 2015 Summer Universiade. Lasitskene missed most of 2016 due to injury, but made her return to action in 2017. She won gold at both the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the 2017 IAAF World Championships. In 2018, Lasitskene successfully defended her European title, winning gold at the 2018 European Athletics Championships. She also won silver at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships.