Yaroslava Mahuchikh won a third consecutive European high jump title with a modest 1.97m, but the bigger story was the collapse of her closest rival Angelina Topic, who could not clear beyond 1.83m and finished 12th in a final that threw up plenty of surprises.

Yaroslava Mahuchikh made it three European titles in a row on Saturday night (Aug 15), though this one came without any of the fireworks her season had promised. The Ukrainian, unbeaten in all but one competition all year and a two-metre jumper on five separate occasions in 2026, needed only 1.97m to win gold at Alexander Stadium – comfortably her most modest winning height of the season and one that told of a competition which never really caught fire for the favourite.

If Mahuchikh's evening was underwhelming by her own high standards, it was nothing compared to what happened to Angelina Topic. Built up before the championships as the closest thing to a genuine rival, the Serbian could not find any rhythm at all, going out at 1.83m to finish a distant 12th.

Into the gap left by Topic's struggles stepped Poland's Maria Zodzik, who claimed silver with 1.95m to add a European medal to the world silver she won last year – a result that fully vindicated her billing as a genuine contender rather than an outsider.

Topic said: "I felt amazing today and I was ready for some big heights but I just was not ready for such cold conditions. I am still shivering, I cannot feel my legs. It is totally my fault."

Montenegro's Marija Vukovic, tipped before the championships as a potential party-spoiler, delivered on that promise too, matching Zodzik's 1.95m to take bronze and add to the silver she won at these championships back in 2022.

Germany's Christina Honsel and Ukraine's Iryna Gerashchenko both cleared 1.92m for fourth and fifth respectively, with Gerashchenko's season of inconsistency continuing right through to the final itself.

Sweden's Louise Ekman and Italy's Asia Tavernini shared sixth with 1.88m, while Britain's Morgan Lake was among four athletes tied for eighth at the same height, a solid return for the home nation's hope.

“It was a tricky one for me," said Lake. "I had a few run-up problems in the warm-up. I didn't actually manage to clear a bar in the warm-up at any height, so that was a little bit difficult to navigate. Just so much headwind. I think not having the number of competitions I probably would have had last year kind of played into that a little bit. I needed everything, not perfect, but favourable, to get my run-up right.

"At a home championship, you always want to perform, but for the level that I've been at this year, it was actually good. I came into this competition with a season's best of 1.88m, and I got 1.90m in the qualifying and then 1.88m again tonight. It's where I'm at, which is sometimes hard, but I'm also just super proud of myself to be here, really."

“I think this championship has kind of kept me going all season. There were many points this season where I was like, 'I think I should just call it here.' But I wanted to be in Birmingham. I wanted to give this crowd a reason to cheer for women's high jump. So yeah, I'm proud of myself for that.”

Women's high jump: 1 Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) 1.97; 2 Maria Zodzik (POL) 1.95; 3 Marija Vukovic (MNE) 1.95; 4 Christina Honsel (GER) 1.92; 5 Iryna Gerashchenko (UKR) 1.92; 6 Louise Ekman (SWE) 1.88; 7 Asia Tavernini (ITA) 1.88; 8 Solène Gicquel (FRA) 1.88; 8 Morgan Lake (GBR) 1.88