If you try to determine who is now the most powerful athlete in Russia, regardless of age, gender and specialization, then athlete Maria Lasitskene would probably be the highest in this ranking. Of course, such comparisons and statements are incorrect in sports, and the jumper itself would not have set itself apart from the others, but still, even in the last two months, there are so many reasons for believing that they simply cannot be ignored.
In every season, starting in 2015, Lasicken reigns supreme in women's high jumps. During this time, she did not obey only the title of Olympic champion. And even then - solely because, like the vast majority of Russian athletes, she was not allowed to compete in Rio.
The 2019th partly resembles all previous years - Lasitskene wins, tries to break the world record, and her rivals are not particularly disturbed by this. The last time she had to learn was the bitterness of defeat in January at the Lukashevich and Seryodkin Memorial in Chelyabinsk. Then she lost to Anna Chicherova, who took the height of 2.01 m, while Lasitskene, in her best attempt, flew away to 1.97 m.
Since then, the 26-year-old athlete has won every tournament in which she participated, be it modest Russian indoor competitions or the stage of the Diamond League, where top-class jumpers competed with her from all over the world. At the moment, Lasitskene’s winning streak consists of 16 tournaments, of which eight were in the summer season.
The first open-air start was the hardest for Lasicken. The weather in Stockholm at the stage of the "Diamond League" did not at all dispose to high jumps. Maria managed to win, but with a very modest result - 1.92 m. But then she returned to the usual two-meter jumps and attempts to break her personal record.
At the stage in Oslo, Lasitskene had already taken a height of 2.01 m and tried to raise the bar by two centimeters. Three days later at the tournament in Chorzów, she jumped 2.00 and 2.02 m from the first attempt, after which she felt confident of adding five centimeters at once. The personal record of 2.06 m survived, but Lasitskene felt the height enough to make a breakthrough on the next start in Ostrava. Having added another centimeter to the best result of the season, the Russian woman decided to at least repeat the “person” and achieved her goal.
Taking 2.06 m, Lasitskene again thought about the world record, which since 1987 belongs to the Bulgarian athlete Stefka Kostadinova and is 2.09 m. The Russian woman did not try to beat him in official competitions for two years. She approached the height of 2.10 m three times, but one of the main achievements in the history of athletics again stood.
Those results can be called the peak of the sport form of Mary, which is always impossible to stay on. In the following stages of the Diamond League at Stanford, Lausanne and Monaco, she tried to beat her personal achievement twice more, but did not succeed. Nevertheless, Lasitskene six times took a two-meter height, and the best result for this period were shown in the US 2.04 m.
The athlete won her last so far victory on Tuesday, July 16, in the Italian Padua. The performance there was quite symbolic for her, because exactly ten years ago, Maria, who bore the name Kuchin, first performed abroad in neighboring Bressanone and became the silver medalist of the youth world championship. Lasitskene celebrated her return to Italy with a victory, although with a rather modest result of 1.94 meters.
It is worth noting that this season the Russian woman began to experience the highest competition in two years. In 2017, only two girls, in addition to Lasicken, managed to overcome the bar at a height of two meters. Last season there were already three of them, and by the middle of this summer there were five of them.
Nafissat Tiam turned out to be the closest to Lasitskene, showing a result of 2.02 m. However, she just can’t be considered a direct competitor to a Russian woman - the Belgian is a profile multi-event and doesn’t particularly claim to someone else’s patrimony. But the rest of the girls with good performance, are looking forward to misfire Maria, to inflict her first defeat this summer.
These include American Vashti Cunningham, 17-year-old athlete from Ukraine Yaroslav Maguchikh and Belarusian Karina Taranda - the last two have declared themselves only this season. In a centimeter from the main line for women's high jumps, another Ukrainian, Irina Gerashchenko, stopped. If before Lasitskene could afford to speak not too successfully and still remain in the first place, as it was in the same Padua, now it can be inflicted by rivals, whose level has noticeably grown.
At the same time, competition has grown in Russia. So, in June, Chicherova, who did not receive admission to international competitions, also jumped two meters, confirming her excellent shape. There is no such situation that Lasitskene can relax at home competitions. And just at her next start she will have to face the 2012 Olympic champion. On July 24, the girls will perform at the Russian Championships in Cheboksary, and Lasicken, who has conquered the world, will have to prove that she holds leading positions in her country.