High Jump Women – Quality will rise

Rarely has a Diamond League competition boasted as many reigning champions on its start list as appear in this year’s edition of the traditionally fascinating meet.

Meeting director Steinar Hoen, a former European High Jump Champion, has painstakingly put together a field that boasts enormous pedigree in terms of quality. London Olympic Champion Anna Chicherova of Russia heads the list of gold medallists which also includes her team mate and Moscow World Champion Svetlana Shkolina, European Champion and the rejuvenated Spaniard Ruth Beitia and the sport’s most recent Champions, Kamila Licwinko of Poland who shared the Indoor title in Sopot before an adoring Polish crowd with the young Russian Maria Kuchina. This list of notable competitors also includes former World Champion Blanka Vlasic who still claims the second best jump ever (2.08m) in this star studded field and Italy’s reigning World Junior Champion Alessia Trost.

Svetlana Shkolina was a worthy winner of the World title last year. She displayed consistent form all season and was able to do better than her 3rd place in the London Olympics with a performance that showed great concentration in full view of the ranting Russian crowd.

Anna Chicherova has been a dominant figure in female high jumping over the last decade (she won a silver medal at the 2004 Indoors) and whilst her 2013 season was probably not her best, she has returned to the strict training regime that has seen her Olympic and World Champion and with a best of 2.07m.

One of the more intriguing entrants and a firm favourite of the Bislett crowd is USA’s Chaunté Lowe (formerly Howard), who has remarkably returned to the sport after the birth of her third child. Lowe, who was a previous winner at Bislett, started jumping only a matter of months ago but already shares the world lead with a clearance of 1.96m. She of course was the winner of the 2012 World Indoors and has a personal record of 2.05m.

The carefully invited field features no fewer than eight athletes who have achieved successful clearances of 2m or above. Blanka Vlasic, Anna Chicerova, Svetlana Shkolina, Irina Gordeeva, Ruth Beitia, Chaunté Lowe, Maria Kuchina and Kamila Licwinko are all members of the sports “2 Meter Club”.

Current Champions engaged for the 2014 Bislett Games Women’s High Jump.
Reigning Olympic Champion: Anna Chicherova (RUS)
Reigning World Champion: Svetlana Shkolina (RUS)
Reigning World Indoor Champions: Kamila Licwinko (POL) / Maria Kuchina (RUS)
Reigning European Champion: Ruth Beitia (ESP)
Reigning World Junior Champion: Alessia Trost (ITA)
Reigning IAAF Continents Cup Champion: Blanka Vlasic (CRO)