Yaroslava Mahuchikh tied her orange trainers, prepared her run-up and could hardly suppress a smile. She would be Olympic champion: that was certain after Nicola Olyslagers, her likable Australian rival, had missed her third attempt to clear 2.02 metres.
This attempt at 2.04m would be ceremonial, procedural, a glory run with the spoils already assured. Like the silver medallist it turned out she could not quite clear the bar, but that hardly mattered. Within minutes she was parading a Ukraine flag around the track with her compatriot Iryna Gerashchenko, who took joint bronze, and the crowd rose to acclaim a talent capable of becoming an all-time great.
