All three individuals set national records and achieve Olympic standard with third-attempt clearances at 6-5.50 (1.97m), with Cyprus competitor and Georgia star Kulichenko sharing Division 1 title with Ghanaian athlete Yeboah from Illinois instead of enduring sudden-death tiebreaker, as Nigerian standout and Texas Tech freshman Adeshina takes third overall based on more total attempts

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport and Logan Hannigan-Downs

EUGENE, Ore. – During a year in which women’s high jumping has been the deepest and most compelling showcase of the event in collegiate history, with multiple athletes achieving historic 2-meter clearances indoors, Saturday’s final at the NCAA Division 1 Championships reached new levels in terms of both drama and clutch performances from three more remarkable international performers.

Rose Yeboah of Illinois, an athlete from Ghana, along with Cyprus competitor and Georgia star Elena Kulichenko and Nigerian standout Temitope Adeshina of Texas Tech all achieved national records plus the Olympic standard of 6 feet, 5.50 inches (1.97m) on their third attempts, and that still wasn’t enough to decide the winner following a combined nine missed jumps from the trio at 6-6.75 (2.00m) at Hayward Field.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

So, rather than extend the competition with a sudden-death tiebreaker, for the first time in the history of the women’s high jump at both the Division 1 indoor and outdoor finals, an agreement was reached by the two programs to have a pair of athletes share the title, with Kulichenko and Yeboah being declared co-champions after each individual had a combined eight misses during their respective series.

Adeshina, who achieved third-attempt clearances at 6-3.25 (1.91m), 6-4.25 (1.94m) and 6-5.50, took third based on nine total misses in the competition. All three athletes matched the No. 4 performance in collegiate outdoor history.

“I think I have (tied) before, but not for first place. It’s a weird feeling,” Kulichenko said. “That’s what we love to see, great competition. That’s what the NCAA is for, it was just amazing. I’m so drained right now, I still cannot believe that happened.”

Although Yeboah is the first women’s high jump winner from Illinois, there was a connection among both programs and championship athletes, with Illini Director of Track and Field Petros Kyprianou not only being from Cyprus, in addition to his previous role as the head coach at Georgia from 2015-21, before arriving in Champaign.

“It feels great to be a champion. It wasn’t easy. I decided this morning I was coming to win and fortunately, I won,” Yeboah said. “I was really tired because I took a lot of jumps. When I had the pressure on me, I decided I was going to make it. The motivation alone moved me, too.”

Kulichenko, who became the first Georgia female athlete to win the title since Mady Fagan in 2017 and also followed former Cyprus competitor Leontia Kallenou in 2014 winning a high jump championship for the Bulldogs at Hayward Field, led the field as the only individual to clear 6-3.25 on her first attempt.

But Yeboah grabbed the momentum by producing a first-attempt clearance at 6-4.25, with Adeshina and Kulichenko both needing three tries to extend the competition.

Kulichenko was the first athlete in the rotation to clear 6-5.50 on her third opportunity, surpassing a Division 1 outdoor championship record of 6-5 (1.96m) that was achieved by former UCLA star Amy Acuff in 1995.

“Yes, 1.97 (meters) was on my mind. I wanted to do it because it’s the Olympic standard as well, that’s why I am always thinking about it,” Kulichenko said. “It’s amazing. I’ve been waiting for it for a while, and that’s why I can actually go back to training, and I don’t have to think about it because I’m qualified. I’m so happy.

“It was very emotional, that’s why I wasn’t thinking how my body felt at the moment, because there was so much adrenaline, and I was just going for it.”

Adeshina, who cleared 6-5 indoors in January at the Corky Classic in Lubbock, elevated her personal-best effort when it mattered most by joining Kulichenko with her successful clearance at 6-5.50 on the third try.

“It’s a very big relief off my shoulders,” Adeshina said. “I got the Olympic standard for high jump, so I’ll be going to the Olympics and I’m so glad about that.”

Yeboah responded to the challenge, feeding off an electrifying crowd at Hayward Field to propel her over 6-5.50 on the third opportunity, giving all three athletes a chance to attempt a 2-meter clearance, which was achieved by both Jamaican competitor Lamara Distin of Texas A&M and Arkansas standout Rachel Glenn during the indoor season.

“I wasn’t too afraid because I knew I was going to make it,” Yeboah said. “I got the motivation from my coaches and the audience and it gave me a lot of energy. It motivated me to do my best. I had some space and I cleared 1.94m, so I had faith that I was going to clear 1.97m.”

Distin, winner of two NCAA indoor championships and one outdoor crown during her career, finished fourth Saturday at 6-3.25. Glenn was unable to move past 5-11.50 (1.82m) because the high jump competition overlapped with her warmup for the 400-meter hurdles final, where she took third in 54.11 seconds.

Nebraska’s Jenna Rogers, competing for only the third time during the outdoor season after being sidelined with an injury for more than two months, placed fifth at 6-1.50 (1.87m) to earn her fifth career All-America first-team honor.

Rogers, the top American athlete in the field Saturday, then just sat back and watched the tension build during the next hour, grateful to experience all the emotions connected with championship competition once again.

“I want to quit high jump at this point because these girls are so good,” Rogers joked. “Not legitimately quitting, but you can see that women’s high jump is growing, and that just gives me chills. So even if I’m not part of that 2-meter club, that’s insane to say that there are multiple girls (in the NCAA) who are jumping at that bar. I’m so happy for them and I’m so happy for the high jump community because we needed that. There was a time where 1.83m (6 feet) got you third and now, that’s not the case anymore. It’s a new level, which I am so happy about.”

Kulichenko, who outlasted both Distin and Glenn on May 11 with a 6-4.75 (1.95m) clearance to win her first career Southeastern Conference title in Florida, believes after Saturday that a 2-meter performance could be on the horizon this summer following an agonizing near miss on her second attempt, which was the 12th of her 13 jumps during the competition.

But Kulichenko knows for certain that she will be reunited in August in Paris with Adeshina, Distin and Yeboah, looking to build on the experience gained from reaching the finals last year at the World Athletics Championships in Hungary, in addition to the momentum created following the most captivating NCAA outdoor high jump final in history.

“That 2-meter jump, the second attempt was so close. I thought I had it, but maybe it was a bit of bad luck,” Kulichenko said. “Two meters is such a barrier for women’s high jumping. That’s why knowing I can be there and knowing I can be on top with those girls internationally, it feels amazing.”