Kazakhstan’s High Jumper Elizaveta Matveeva Competed in Her First European Event of the Season
Kazakhstan’s high jumper Elizaveta Matveeva, 24, competed in her first European event of the current season at the FBK Games in Hengelo, which is part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold level.
It seemed that at the FBK Games in Hengelo—a city in the Netherlands—not only did the 24-year-old Elizaveta Matveeva, but also more experienced high jumpers, struggle with the psychological pressure of competing among such elite company.
The women’s high jump victory went to the main favorite, Nicola Olyslagers from Australia, a two-time Olympic silver medalist and a two-time world indoor champion. Nicola began her competition in Hengelo at 1.90 meters. After that, only one other athlete remained in the field: Lamara Distin from Jamaica. Olyslagers then cleared 1.93 meters on her first attempt, while that height proved too much for Distin. But the Australian didn’t stop there. She secured her victory by clearing 1.97 meters on her second attempt.
So, first place at the FBK Games went to Nicola Olyslagers with 1.97 meters. Second place went to Lamara Distin from Jamaica with 1.90 meters. Third place went to Sweden’s Engla Nilsson with 1.85 meters. The same height was cleared by Safina Sadullaeva of Uzbekistan, the Asian Games champion, but she placed fourth due to more failed attempts.
Kazakhstan’s Elizaveta Matveeva placed sixth. She cleared 1.75 and 1.80 on her first attempts but then failed three times at 1.85. Among those who also couldn’t clear higher than 1.80 was Slovenia’s Lia Apostolovski, the 2024 World Indoor Championships bronze medalist.
The very fact that Elizaveta Matveeva was invited to compete at a gold-level event in the World Athletics Continental Tour is itself a recognition of a certain level of achievement. But that level must be maintained and improved, particularly in competitions of this caliber, like the FBK Games. It is therefore important to value opportunities to compete at this level and to approach them with maximum motivation and focus.
Source: https://qazathletics.kz/ru/news/ispytanie-zvezdami-elizaveta-matveeva-na-fbk-games
