European champion achieves poignant high jump success with first major outdoor title, while Weber brings javelin joy to the home crowd

If there is one nation which has noticeably received generous support from the Munich crowd – over and above the German athletes, of course – it has been Ukraine.

With war still raging in their home country, there has been a warm reception for the team of athletes and that trend continued when the world and European indoor champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh struck high jump gold for the first time in a major outdoor championships.

The 20-year-old sailed over 1.86m, 1.90m and 1.95m at the first time of asking. Montenegro’s Marija Vuković also went over that height, but at the third attempt, so when both could not manage 1.97m, the top prize went to the Ukrainian. Serbian Angelina Topić won bronze with a best of 1.93m.

“I would like to dedicate this medal to the Ukrainian people,” said Mahuchikh, who hopes to return. “This is my first [outdoor] gold medal at a major championships. I left my home in March and it has been difficult since then. Our people wait for good news and it is a pleasure for them to see my gold medal. I want to show that we are strong people, a strong nation and that we can fight until the end.

“I love this medal. I want to thank the Ukrainian team and all the people who supported me. This is a fantastic atmosphere here in Munich. I guess now I will start to collect more gold medals. I hope to go back home in September.”

After finishing joint-seventh with a best of 1.90m, a deeply frustrated Morgan Lake had said in a TV interview that she might walk away from the sport following her fourth European Championships. However, the Briton said: “I think I was a bit reactive in my BBC interview where I said I wasn’t going to carry on. Of course I am going to carry on, I think that was just my initial reaction. It is frustrating being close and feeling great and then not emulating it in competition.”

Germans love their field events and, in the javelin, there were wild celebrations from the huge crowd when Julian Weber, fourth in the Olympics and World Championships, won his first major event since winning the 2013 European Junior championships.

Surprisingly this was his first Europeans, with selection never easy when you have compatriots like Johannes Vetter, Thomas Rohler and Andreas Hofmann to compete with.

Weber led the opening round with 83.04m but Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch then threw 87.28m in the second and a 84.03m third-round effort seemed to underline his superiority.

However, backed by a huge home roar, Weber produced an 87.66m fourth round throw to narrowly move into a lead which would not be overtaken.

The bronze went to Finland’s Lassi Etelatalo who set a PB 86.44m at the age of 34, having been sixth at the World Championships in Eugene.