She wanted to go into show business and was liked by handsome men: what Yaroslava Maguchikh looked like in her youth. Rare photos

The day before, Olympic champion Yaroslava Maguchikh received yet another recognition - the Ukrainian was named the world's best athlete of the year in non-running disciplines. The native of Dnipro broke the world record set 37 years ago by Stefka Kostadinova from Bulgaria, took the Olympic gold medal and won the Diamond League season.

In an interview with the Champion portal, Maguchikh admitted that at the age of 11, she wanted to quit sports and focus on vocals and music. However, the future athletics star's career was saved by Tatiana Stepanova, a coach who convinced Yaroslava to dedicate herself to high jumping.

"I don't even know what would have happened if we hadn't met then. Instead of running the hurdles, I decided to jump because I liked the atmosphere when everyone gathers in a sector and there are three attempts for each height. And also the flight. Even now, from time to time, I imagine myself as a bird, flying above the bar somewhere in the sky - it's very cool," the athlete said.

She also recalled that she started running at the age of seven and initially ran short hurdles, did well in school, and was an excellent student in the 11th grade.

Yaroslava enjoyed the attention of boys. "Since childhood, I liked different boys. First of all, I sympathized with the handsome ones, as is often the case at school. Boys also liked me, and they would constantly pass me notes with drawn hearts in class," Maguchikh recalled before.

OBOZ.UA offers its readers rare childhood photos of the champion.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Yaroslava Maguchikh made a splash with her appearance at the World Athletics Awards 2024 in Monaco.

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