The week of track and field athletics at Luzhniki was completed by the high jump festival, the main characters of which were to be Maria Lasitskene and Ilya Ivanyuk.
Both won a week ago at the Znamensky Memorial, and Ilya with the best result of the season in the world.
And, of course, fans and specialists on Monday expected the continuation of the sports show.
In addition, it was supposed that on this day the 2019 vice world champion Mikhail Akimenko would enter the sector, which promised an even higher level of competition and results.
He was waiting for the opportunity to measure his strength with a teammate and Ivanyuk, but Mikhail refused to participate, because he did not recover from an injury.
As a result, the men did not succeed in a serious struggle in the sector: only four reached a modest height of 2.23 meters, and only Ilya coped with it.
Daniil Tsyplakov, after one unsuccessful attempt, moved the remaining two to the next height - 2.26 meters, but this tactical move was unsuccessful.
Ivanyuk did not submit to the bar twice at this mark, after which he asked to raise it another four centimeters.
Taking a run, the athlete asked for support from the public, which that evening almost completely filled the stands of the Northern Sports Core, despite the rain that had passed shortly before the start.
However, Ilya's audience support was not enough - the only attempt at a height of 2.30 meters was also unsuccessful.
As the jumper later explained, a small technical error prevented, as well as the lack of the necessary emotional mood.
“Yesterday I held a master class for children and told them that there are days when you get up on the wrong foot and nothing sticks.
Today was just such a day for me.
It hasn't been good since morning.
Already in the warm-up, it was clear that something was wrong - I didn’t jump a single height.
There was no drive, as at the Znamensky Memorial.
Today I showed 2.23 m and, to be honest, I am not very pleased with this result.
But nothing, you need to draw conclusions and move on, ”Ivanyuk told reporters at the end of the competition.
He stressed that he does not go back on his words that he wants to jump 2.40 m, and will try to overcome the milestone this season.
“I will try at the next competitions,” added the jumper.
Many during the festival noticed that Ivanyuk performs in different spikes.
It turned out that this is so that pairs of shoes wear out evenly, because the load on the jogging leg is different.
And Ilya brought a few more sets to Luzhniki due to rainy weather.
“I know from experience that during or after rain it is very important to have a few spare pairs, because I can’t jump in the wet.
Shoes, when wet, deform, and you can even get injured, ”explained the bronze medalist of the 2019 World Cup.
When Ivanyuk had already completed his speech and was giving interviews as a winner, a real drama was played out in the women's sector.
By this time, the athletes had reached a height of 1.88 m, and on the first attempt she submitted to only two girls - Nadezhda Andryukhina and Natalya Spiridonova.
But Maria Lasitskene, who did not allow a single misfire to this mark, could not cope with the task.
The Olympic champion tried in every possible way to turn herself on, and the audience cheered her up, but neither the second nor the third attempts were successful.
As a result, Maria was content with third place, showing a result six centimeters worse than at the Znamensky Memorial - 1.85 meters.
The victory eventually went to Andryukhina, who took a height of 1.91.
Lasitskene, commenting on her speech, noted that she was not in the best physical shape and would like to quickly forget what happened.
“From the moment I arrived at the stadium, somehow everything went wrong.
Hard to explain.
It has nothing to do with the weather.
Although it was raining, I was determined that it would end by the start of the warm-up.
There were emotions, a competitive atmosphere, so many fans in the stands.
Today's result is related to my preparation, physical form, and not to the loss of drive.
Yes, you have to wait a long time for your turn, but these are my problems, and I have to deal with them.
Today I didn’t cope, ”explained the three-time world champion.
She also noted that she plans to compete in almost all competitions in the Queen of Sports series, with the exception of the most remote cities.
Maria is ready to go to tournaments in Belarus, the participation of Russian athletes in which has been actively discussed in recent days.
“Everything will depend on the decision of the coach.
He is still thinking about it, ”said the jumper.