Ukrainian pole vaulter Maryna Kylypko

Maryna Kylypko, born on November 10, 1995, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, is a distinguished Ukrainian pole vaulter. Her athletic career began early, showcasing her extraordinary skills and positioning her as one of Ukraine’s top athletes. In 2010, she entered the competitive arena at the Yalta Ukrainian U18 Championships, where she finished in fifth place.

Maryna Kylypko has notably excelled in her field, achieving a personal best of 4.70m outdoors and 4.62m indoors in pole vaulting. She proudly represented Ukraine at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, securing a commendable fifth-place finish in the pole vault final. Her achievements include winning a silver medal at both the European U23 Championships and the European Team Championships. Furthermore, she is a seven-time outdoor national champion and a four-time national indoor champion. Notably, she holds the national record for Ukraine in the pole vault event.

In 2011, Maryna Kylypko made her debut on the international stage, competing at the Lille IAAF World Youth Championships, but was unable to reach the final. She also participated in the Zaporozhye Ukrainian Indoor Cup and Yalta Ukrainian Cup that season, though she missed out on the honors. However, she earned a silver medal at the Yalta BLR-UKR U18 Match.

Maryna Kylypko’s big breakthrough came in 2012 when she competed at the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships, making her national championship debut. Though she finished a close 5th, just shy of the honors, she went on to have a successful outdoor season. Maryna Kylypko earned the gold at the Kharkov Ukrainian Junior Cup and added a bronze at the Kharkov Ukrainian Club Championships.

The following year, Maryna Kylypko continued her upward trajectory. She opened the 2013 indoor season by winning silver medals at the Zaporozhye Ukrainian Indoor Cup and Donetsk Ukrainian Junior Pole Vault Championship. At the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships, she finished 5th once again. Outdoors, Maryna Kylypko claimed silver at the Kharkov Ukrainian Junior Championships, but narrowly missed the final at the Rieti European Junior Championships, finishing 13th in qualifying.

In 2014, Maryna Kylypko secured a silver medal at the Kiev Ukrainian Club Championships and participated in the Eugene IAAF World Junior Championships, yet she still failed to reach the final.

In 2015, Maryna Kylypko achieved her inaugural national titles in pole vaulting, securing gold at both the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships and the Kirovograd Ukrainian Championships. Additionally, she claimed gold at the Kharkov Summer Universiade, Zaporozhye Ukrainian Club Championships, and Kirovograd Ukrainian U23 Championships, along with a silver medal at the Kirovograd Ukrainian Club Championships. She also participated in the Tallinn European U23 Championships but failed to qualify for the finals once more.

Maryna Kylypko secured yet another national title in pole vaulting in 2016 at the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships. Although she represented Ukraine at the Rio 2016 Olympics, she did not advance to the final round. Throughout the season, she participated in both the Amsterdam European Athletics Championships and the Dakar IAAF World Challenge, but did not earn any medals. However, she did achieve a silver medal at the esteemed Rovereto Palio Citta della Quercia, in addition to victories at the Budapest Hopp-Parade and Kuortane Games. Maryna also took part in the Golden Spike Ostrava 2016 and the Turku Paavo Nurmi Games, yet did not secure a medal in those events.

In 2017, Maryna Kylypko achieved remarkable success, securing a gold medal at both the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships and the Madrid Reunion Internacional. She also earned bronze medals at the Karlsruhe Indoor Meeting and the Beograd European Indoor Championships. As the outdoor season unfolded, she continued to shine, claiming gold at the Kropyvnytskiy Ukrainian Championships and the Turku Paavo Nurmi Games. Additionally, she garnered silver at the Bydgoszcz European U23 Championships and the Heusden-Zolder KBC Night of Athletics, along with bronze at the Montreuil-sous-Bois Meeting International and the Szekesfehervar Hopp-Parade. Although she competed at the London IAAF World Championships in Athletics, she fell short of reaching the final. Nonetheless, she came close to earning accolades at the Universiade in Taipei and the Golden Spike Ostrava 2017, finishing just shy of the podium in both events with fourth-place finishes. Her debut at the Diamond League at the Roma Golden Gala – Pietro Mennea saw her finish in seventh place.

In 2018, Maryna Kylypko continued to demonstrate her prowess in athletics, dominating the national scene once again. She clinched gold at the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships and the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships. During the indoor season, she added a bronze medal from the Paris Indoor Meeting and the Mondeville Meeting National to her collection. As the outdoor season progressed, she secured silver at the Meeting Stanislas Nancy and bronze at both the Turku Paavo Nurmi Games and the Stockholm BAUHAUS-galan. Her participation in the Berlin European Athletics Championships culminated in an eighth-place finish, showcasing her consistent performance on the international stage.

In 2019, Maryna Kylypko took part in the Glasgow European Indoor Championships and the Doha IAAF World Championships in Athletics, but unfortunately, she didn’t manage to snag a medal. On a brighter note, she did clinch a silver medal at the Bydgoszcz European Athletics Team Championships, along with gold at both the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships and the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships. That season also saw her triumph with gold at the Folksam Grand Prix in Karlstad and the KBC Night of Athletics in Heusden-Zolder, plus a silver at the Meeting Madrid 2019.

The brief 2020 season put a bit of a damper on Maryna Kylypko’s momentum. Still, she managed to shine by winning gold at the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships and securing a silver medal at the Cluj-Napoca Balkan Championships.

In 2021, global sports returned to normal, and Maryna Kylypko resumed her training on the track. She claimed the gold medal at the Lutsk Ukrainian Championships, setting a personal best and a national record of 4.70m, and also secured a silver medal at the Sumy Ukrainian Indoor Championships. Additionally, she competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, finishing 5th in the final. Maryna earned a silver medal at the Gala dei Castelli, Memorial Josefa Odlozila, as well as at the Istanbul Balkan Indoor Championships. She finished 9th at the Torun European Athletics Indoor Championships.

In 2022, Maryna Kylypko won gold at the Lappeenranta Games, silver at both the Hungarian GP Series in Budapest and the Hungarian GP Series in Papa, and bronze at the Kuortane Games. She also competed at the Eugene World Athletics Championships but missed out on a medal once again.

Maryna Kylypko continue competing in 2023 and 2024, but without any significant international appearances and achievements. However, she succeeded to win another national title in 2024, triumphing at the Lviv Ukrainian Championships with 4.00m.

Maryna Kylypko in numbers

1x European U23 Championships silver medalist
1x European Team Championships silver medalist
7x National champion
4x National Indoor champion
Personal best: 4.70m (pole vault)

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