Valeriya gorbatova

Happy birthday to Uzbekistan’s high jumper Valeriya Gorbatova, an Asian Indoor champion who arrives at this birthday in the best form of her life.

On 23 August, a fortnight ago, Valeriya cleared 1.88m. That is a lifetime best. It is the highest she has ever jumped, and she did it two weeks before turning 22. Most athletes chase a personal best all season and find it somewhere in the middle. She found hers right at the end of the summer, still going up.

She is an Asian Indoor champion and an international master of sports, and in the high jump that means something very specific. It means she has stood at the end of that runway in a championship final, with the bar at a height that had already ended other people’s competitions, and gone over it anyway. The high jump gives you nowhere to hide. One bar, everybody watching it, and either you clear it or you don’t.

with a personal best set a fortnight ago. That bar has a long way left to travel.

Happy birthday, Valeriya! Wishing you health, joy, and a great deal more air between you and the bar this year. 🎂🎁🎉🫶🫶🇺🇿