These five extraordinary athletes, hailing from Poland, Ukraine, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy, boast an impressive collection of titles and records that speak to their dominance in the world of athletics.
Anita Włodarczyk (Poland)
Anita Włodarczyk is arguably the most decorated athlete set to shine in Vallehermoso. Her trophy room is dizzying: three-time Olympic Champion (London, Rio, and Tokyo), four-time World Champion (2009, 2013, 2015, and 2017), and four-time European Champion (2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018). She also secured victories in the hammer throw at the European Team Championships in 2009 and 2015. On August 28, 2016, she set a historic world record with a throw of 82.98 meters, a mark no other woman has surpassed. While she’ll be 40 years old in a few weeks and has a season best of 72.81 meters, it would be unwise to count out this Polish legend.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine)
Yaroslava Mahuchikh also holds a remarkable “poker” of titles, signifying her legendary status: she is the current Olympic Champion (Paris), World Champion (Budapest 2023), and European Champion (Rome 2024), along with holding the indoor world record of 2.10 meters. As high jump is a frequent indoor event, the Ukrainian jumper has also left her mark there, with one World Indoor title and two European Indoor titles. She has won 21 meets and three finals in the prestigious Diamond League. This season, she has already cleared 2 meters three times, and she secured her discipline’s title at Chorzow in 2023.
Malaika Mihambo (Germany)
Malaika Mihambo is an accomplished long jumper with an impressive resume, including an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo and a silver in Paris. She is a two-time World Champion (2019 and 2022) and a two-time European Champion (2018 and 2022). She won the Diamond League final in 2019 and has eight other Diamond League meet victories. Additionally, she has earned silver and bronze medals at European Championships (outdoor and indoor). This political science graduate from Heidelberg, Germany, achieved a personal best jump of 7.30 meters in 2019, ranking her 12th on the all-time list. This past winter, she recorded her eighteenth jump over 7 meters (7.07 meters).
Femke Bol (Netherlands)
While Femke Bol doesn’t possess the individual “triple crown” like the previous stars, her extraordinary resume demands attention. The lean runner from Amersfoort boasts four Olympic medals (one gold, one silver, two bronzes), eight World Championship medals (four golds, four silvers), and an astounding 12 European medals (eleven golds, one bronze). This adds up to 22 medals across the six major indoor and outdoor competitions. To top it off, she’s a four-time Diamond League final winner and has won 27 events on the elite athletic circuit. Furthermore, she holds the current 400m hurdles European record (50.95) and the indoor world record for 400m (49.17), a discipline in which she was crowned World Champion in 2024. She’s also proven her prowess in the outdoor 400m, winning the European title in Munich and contributing to the “Oranje” team in the European Team Championships, as she did two years ago in Poland where she also won. While she’s a strong contender for the mixed relay, official confirmation from the technical direction is still pending.
Nadia Battocletti (Italy)
At 25 years old (in April), Nadia Battocletti is the youngest of this formidable group. She holds the Italian record for 10,000 meters, a discipline in which she secured a silver medal at the last Olympic Games. No other Italian athlete has run faster than her in the 3000m, 5000m, 5km, and 10km distances. She is the current European Champion in both the 5,000m and 10,000m, and she won the shorter distance in the last two editions of the European Team Championships (a discipline she will also compete in Madrid). She is currently in her prime, evidenced by her recent Italian record in the 5,000m, achieved on June 6th at the Rome Diamond League with a time of 14:23.15
