Ukrainian pole vault athlete Yana Hladiychuk

Yana Hladiychuk is an Ukrainian athlete, who competed in the women’s pole vault event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The four-time Balkan Championships winner (indoor and outdoor) and six-time national champion (indoor and outdoor) was born on May 21, 1993, and started in athletics at an early age, proving to be one of the top young talents in the country.

Yana Hladiychuk’s competitive career began in 2010 when she won gold in heptathlon at the Yalta Ukrainian U18 Championships and silver in shot put. She also competed in pentathlon at the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships but did not medal. Initially, she participated in general athletics, long jump, and combined events before later specializing in pole vault.

In 2012, she secured a silver medal at the Yalta Ukrainian University Championships in the heptathlon. The following season, she shifted her focus primarily to the long jump, participating in the 2014 Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships, where she placed 13th.

In 2015, Yana Hladiychuk dedicated herself to the pole vault, competing exclusively in this discipline. She took part in the Kirovograd Ukrainian Championships, Kirovograd Ukrainian Club Championships, and Kirovograd Ukrainian U23 Championships.

Yana Hladiychuk achieved her first national gold medal in 2016 at the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships and also earned a bronze medal at the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships. Throughout the season, she claimed gold at the Kirovograd Ukrainian Club Championships, Zaporozhye Ukrainian Indoor Club Championships, and the Kyiv Ukrainian Indoor Cup.

In 2017, Yana Hladiychuk commenced her season by securing silver medals at both the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships and the Kropyvnytskiy Ukrainian Championships. Additionally, she achieved gold at the Kyiv Christmas Stars Meet and the Zaporozhye Ukrainian Club Championships. The Ukrainian athlete also participated in the pole vault event at the Villeneuve d’Ascq European Team Championships, where she concluded the final in 7th place.

In 2018, Yana Hladiychuk added two more national silver medals to her accolades, finishing as the runner-up at the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships and the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships. She also claimed gold at the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Club Championships.

Continuing her strong performance in 2019, Yana Hladiychuk maintained her status as the national runner-up, once again earning silver at the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships and the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships. During this season, she made her debut in the Diamond League at the Stabhochsprung-Meeting, where she finished in 9th place. Furthermore, she secured silver at the Lutsk Ukrainian Club Championships and gold at the Kyiv Regional Team Championships.

Yana Hladiychuk achieved remarkable success in 2020, securing gold medals at both the Cluj-Napoca Balkan Championships and the Istanbul Balkan Indoor Championships. Additionally, she claimed her second national title at the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships and earned a silver medal at the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships. Hladiychuk also excelled at the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Club Championships and the Kyiv Ukrainian Indoor Cup, where she won gold. Throughout the season, she improved her personal best to 4.50m, setting a new Ukrainian National Record.

In 2021, Yana Hladiychuk represented her country at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics; however, she recorded a qualifying round result of 4.40m, which did not advance her to the finals. She continued her successful streak by winning her third Balkan title at the Istanbul Balkan Indoor Championships and securing her third national title at the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships, where set a personal best of 4.61m. Furthermore, she earned silver medals at both the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships and the Smederevo Balkan Championships. During the season, she participated in the Torun European Athletics Indoor Championships and the Memorial Josefa Odlozila in the Czech Republic, achieving a bronze medal at the Grand Prix Gliwic and a silver at the Lutsk Ukrainian Club Championships.

Yana Hladiychuk commenced the 2022 season by securing the gold medal at the Kyiv Ukrainian Indoor Club Championships and the 9th Nationales Breuninger Hallenmeeting in Erfurt. She also participated in the Beograd World Athletics Indoor Championships, where she finished in fourth place, narrowly missing out on a medal. Throughout the outdoor season, she took part in the Eugene World Athletics Championships and the Munich European Athletics Championships, but once again fell short of the medal positions. Additionally, she claimed her fourth national title at the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships and earned a silver medal at both the Memorial Josef Odloziila and the Castiglione International Meeting in Grosseto, Italy.

In 2023, Yana Hladiychuk competed in the Istanbul European Athletics Indoor Championships but was unable to qualify for the finals. During this season, she achieved her fifth national title at the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships and secured a bronze medal at the Kraljevo Balkan Championships. Furthermore, she won silver medals at the 19th International Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, the Sky’s the Limit 2023 in Zweibrucken, and the Velka cena Tabora, along with a bronze medal at the 10th Breuninger Hallenmeeting in Erfurt.

Yana Hladiychuk continue performing at high level in 2024, starting the season by winning the gold at the Season Opening in Leverkusen and finished 5th at the IFAM Gent Indoor. At the Istanbul Balkan Indoor Championships, she won the gold in the pole vault with 4.40m, while at the Memorial Josip Gasparac in Osijek finished third with 4.51m. By the end of the season, she won another prestigious bronze at the Josef Odlozil Memorial in Praha and competed at the Roma European Athletics Championships, but unfortunately did not reached the finals. Yana Hladiychuk won her sixth national title at the Lviv Ukrainian Championships, clearing 4.30m, and won the bronze at the Night of Athletics in Heusden-Zolder with 4.23m. She ended the season by prestigious pole vault silver at the Flight Circus in Dusseldorf with 4.32m.

Yana Hladiychuk started 2025 season by winning the Season Opening in Leverkusen with 4.20m and securing a silver at the Klaverblad International Polsstokgala in Zoetermeer with 4.32m. At the Czech Indoor Gala she finished 4th with 4.40m and at the INIT Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe finished 7th with 4.30m.

Yana Hladiychuk in numbers

4x Balkan champion
6x National champion
Personal best: 4.61m (pole vault)

More photos of Yana Hladiychuk