site.bta37-Year-Old High-Jump World Record Broken, Previous Holder from Bulgaria: Achievement Is "Historic"

A 2.09 m world record in the women's high jump, set by Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova in Rome on August 30, 1987, was broken in Paris on Sunday by Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who cleared the bar at 2.10 m.

Kostadinova, who is now President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC), said she was sure that this will happen some day. She was quoted in a BOC press release as calling Mahuchikh's achievement "historic" not just because it betters a record that remained intact for 37 years but because those 210 cm "are proof that there is no limit to human capabilities and prove wrong pesimists' assertions that certain athletics records are for ever."

"A month ago I was in Rome among the officials who presented the award to Mahuchikh after she won gold at the European Athletics Championships. During the ceremony I held her tightly and whispered in her ear that she is ready for a world record. We even laughed because I told her that even at the Paris Olympics she can clear 207 cm and then target 210. And so she did it, moreover in Paris of all places, even though shortly before the Olympics. I congratulate Mahuchikh once again, I wish her more wins and records, but I still believe that some day the record will be Bulgarian once again," Kostadinova said.