Ukrainian high jumper Oleh Doroshchuk won his first-ever medal at the World Athletics Indoor Championships — becoming the champion of the event in Toruń.
Doroshchuk competed at the World Indoor Championships for the third time in his career. At his two previous appearances, the Ukrainian finished in the top five: in 2024 he placed fourth (2.24 m), while last year he finished fifth with his best result — 2.28 m, Suspilne Sport reports.
In the final of the 2026 World Championships, Doroshchuk competed against 11 other athletes. Among his rivals were South Korea’s Woo Sang-hyeok, Czech athlete Jan Štefela, and Jamaica’s Romaine Beckford and Raymond Richards, among others.
By the height of 2.26 m, only half of the participants remained in the competition. Three of them cleared the first three heights without errors: Doroshchuk, as well as Woo and Richards. At 2.30 m, the Ukrainian took the lead, clearing it on his first attempt, while his rivals failed to do so.
In the end, besides Doroshchuk, only Mexico’s Erik Portillo cleared 2.30 m. The medals were decided at 2.33 m — a height that no one managed to clear, but Doroshchuk secured gold thanks to fewer attempts.