Kulichenko Hoping For One More Big Leap
June 09, 2025 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
A year ago, Elena Kulichenko hadn't yet made the leap. And then, at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, she did.
Kulichenko had already been very good throughout her high jump career at Georgia. She was the SEC Indoor and Outdoor Freshman Field Athlete of the Year in 2022, and she'd earned All-America honors at every NCAA meet prior to last June's Outdoors. But you don't win a national championship by being among the best — and you don't earn a spot at the Olympics without soaring to an elite height.
At the NCAA Outdoors in Eugene, Ore., she did both.
Kulichenko and Illinois' Rose Yeboah shared the NCAA title a year ago, with both topping out at 6 feet, 5.5 inches (1.97 meters). The clearance was not only championship-worthy, and bettered Kulichenko's school-record height of 6-4.75 set just before at the SEC Outdoor Championships, it also exceeded the Olympic qualifying standard. The 5-foot-10 Kulichenko's reaction after she cleared 6-5.5 told you everything about how much it meant to her.
"This was my goal from the beginning of the year, and that's why I'm extra happy about it. I worked really, really hard to get it. It's just amazing," she said last summer, before heading off to the Paris Olympics to compete for Cyprus. Kulichenko is from Russia but has dual citizenship.
At the Paris Olympics, Kulichenko carried the Cypriot flag during the parade of nations on the Seine River at the opening ceremonies. She then had a top clearance of 1.95 meters to tie for seventh, just ahead of former Georgia jumper Tatiana Gusin of Greece, who placed ninth.
Looking back on her Olympic experience, Kulichenko said last week that it was incredibly meaningful and exciting, but not life-changing.
"It was one of my dreams/goals that I had in terms of my career, and it was just amazing. But I don't think it changed me as an athlete," she said. "I realized that now I want more. Now, I want a medal, you know? I want to win it, whereas this one was more as an experience for me, even though I still performed really good, with a great result."
Kulichenko, the 2023 Under-23 European Champion, also placed seventh at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in China back in March. She's currently ranked eighth in the world, and she earned her degree from UGA last month.
"She's a dream," Georgia jumps coach Ryan Baily said. "She's any coach's dream. She's someone who is not just athletically talented and hard-working, she's extremely coachable. She also really cares about the team."
Georgia's women enter this week's NCAA Outdoor Championships ranked No. 1 in the country, and the team will have 12 individuals and two relay teams competing for titles and points. A strong performance from Kulichenko would certainly help Georgia's chances at capturing the women's first NCAA team title since winning the Indoors in 2018.
Georgia's women and men placed second at the NCAA Indoors in March. The Georgia men are ranked No. 4 and have a good shot at a podium finish this week with 12 Bulldogs and two relays competing in Eugene.
There has been no post-Paris hangover for Kulichenko. She's finished first or second in every meet she's entered, including a second-place finish at the SEC Indoor Championships with a clearance of 6-4.75, and at the NCAA Indoors in March, she shared the national title with Texas Tech's Temitope Adeshina after both cleared a top height of 6-4.25.
Kulichenko's development during her time at Georgia can be seen in her results at the NCAAs. As a freshman, she finished eighth at the Indoors with a 5-10, and 11th at the Outdoors with a top clearance of 5-10.75. As a sophomore, she was third in the Indoors (6-2.0) and the Outdoors (6-1.50).
As a junior, Kulichenko again placed third at the NCAA Indoors, this time with a jump of 6-3.25. And then came her springtime breakthrough, first with the 6-4.75 to win the SEC title and set the UGA and Cypriot records, and then at the NCAAs, where she improved those records and won her first NCAA crown with the jump of 6-5.50.
"It has been crazy growth," Kulichenko said of her improvement at Georgia. "From the start when I got here to now, I improved by like 10 centimeters. And in the high jump, that's a lot.
"I'm really grateful that Georgia helped me to achieve all of these results and that the coaches and everyone have always been there for me through all of my highs and lows."
After sharing her first two NCAA titles, Kulichenko is hoping to come out on top alone this time.
"I'm not planning to share," she said with a smile. "I'm planning to bring it home and be the only one."
Whatever happens this week, Kulichenko has already joined the Bulldog elite in the high jump. Georgia won its first NCAA title in the event in 2007 when Patricia Sylvester prevailed at the Indoors. In 2014, Leontia Kallenou won the Indoor and Outdoor titles, and she followed that with the Indoor championship in 2015. And Mady Fagan did the Indoor-Outdoor sweep in 2017.
Baily said Kulichenko's best is still to come.
"I think her speed is improved, her strength is improved — her everything's improved," he said. "And her takeoff, she's jumping big. We had to make some little, fine adjustments to her approach because the speed's almost too much now. We're in a good place going into her final meet."
Kulickeno, who holds Georgia's school records indoors and outdoors, will begin her professional career after this week's NCAAs. And she heads toward the next chapter of her career, with a very busy summer schedule ahead, in a great place.
"It is definitely more fun than ever," she said of the high jump. "But at the same time, it's more serious for me than ever. And this is a good combination because I had a time when it was not so fun to me; I was so serious about it. Now, I am actually able to enjoy the competition no matter how it goes. Even if it's stressful, I'm still going to enjoy it."
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Staff Writer
A year ago, Elena Kulichenko hadn't yet made the leap. And then, at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, she did.
Kulichenko had already been very good throughout her high jump career at Georgia. She was the SEC Indoor and Outdoor Freshman Field Athlete of the Year in 2022, and she'd earned All-America honors at every NCAA meet prior to last June's Outdoors. But you don't win a national championship by being among the best — and you don't earn a spot at the Olympics without soaring to an elite height.
At the NCAA Outdoors in Eugene, Ore., she did both.
Kulichenko and Illinois' Rose Yeboah shared the NCAA title a year ago, with both topping out at 6 feet, 5.5 inches (1.97 meters). The clearance was not only championship-worthy, and bettered Kulichenko's school-record height of 6-4.75 set just before at the SEC Outdoor Championships, it also exceeded the Olympic qualifying standard. The 5-foot-10 Kulichenko's reaction after she cleared 6-5.5 told you everything about how much it meant to her.
"This was my goal from the beginning of the year, and that's why I'm extra happy about it. I worked really, really hard to get it. It's just amazing," she said last summer, before heading off to the Paris Olympics to compete for Cyprus. Kulichenko is from Russia but has dual citizenship.
At the Paris Olympics, Kulichenko carried the Cypriot flag during the parade of nations on the Seine River at the opening ceremonies. She then had a top clearance of 1.95 meters to tie for seventh, just ahead of former Georgia jumper Tatiana Gusin of Greece, who placed ninth.
Looking back on her Olympic experience, Kulichenko said last week that it was incredibly meaningful and exciting, but not life-changing.
"It was one of my dreams/goals that I had in terms of my career, and it was just amazing. But I don't think it changed me as an athlete," she said. "I realized that now I want more. Now, I want a medal, you know? I want to win it, whereas this one was more as an experience for me, even though I still performed really good, with a great result."
Kulichenko, the 2023 Under-23 European Champion, also placed seventh at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in China back in March. She's currently ranked eighth in the world, and she earned her degree from UGA last month.
"She's a dream," Georgia jumps coach Ryan Baily said. "She's any coach's dream. She's someone who is not just athletically talented and hard-working, she's extremely coachable. She also really cares about the team."
Georgia's women enter this week's NCAA Outdoor Championships ranked No. 1 in the country, and the team will have 12 individuals and two relay teams competing for titles and points. A strong performance from Kulichenko would certainly help Georgia's chances at capturing the women's first NCAA team title since winning the Indoors in 2018.
Georgia's women and men placed second at the NCAA Indoors in March. The Georgia men are ranked No. 4 and have a good shot at a podium finish this week with 12 Bulldogs and two relays competing in Eugene.
There has been no post-Paris hangover for Kulichenko. She's finished first or second in every meet she's entered, including a second-place finish at the SEC Indoor Championships with a clearance of 6-4.75, and at the NCAA Indoors in March, she shared the national title with Texas Tech's Temitope Adeshina after both cleared a top height of 6-4.25.
Kulichenko's development during her time at Georgia can be seen in her results at the NCAAs. As a freshman, she finished eighth at the Indoors with a 5-10, and 11th at the Outdoors with a top clearance of 5-10.75. As a sophomore, she was third in the Indoors (6-2.0) and the Outdoors (6-1.50).
As a junior, Kulichenko again placed third at the NCAA Indoors, this time with a jump of 6-3.25. And then came her springtime breakthrough, first with the 6-4.75 to win the SEC title and set the UGA and Cypriot records, and then at the NCAAs, where she improved those records and won her first NCAA crown with the jump of 6-5.50.
"It has been crazy growth," Kulichenko said of her improvement at Georgia. "From the start when I got here to now, I improved by like 10 centimeters. And in the high jump, that's a lot.
"I'm really grateful that Georgia helped me to achieve all of these results and that the coaches and everyone have always been there for me through all of my highs and lows."
After sharing her first two NCAA titles, Kulichenko is hoping to come out on top alone this time.
"I'm not planning to share," she said with a smile. "I'm planning to bring it home and be the only one."
Whatever happens this week, Kulichenko has already joined the Bulldog elite in the high jump. Georgia won its first NCAA title in the event in 2007 when Patricia Sylvester prevailed at the Indoors. In 2014, Leontia Kallenou won the Indoor and Outdoor titles, and she followed that with the Indoor championship in 2015. And Mady Fagan did the Indoor-Outdoor sweep in 2017.
Baily said Kulichenko's best is still to come.
"I think her speed is improved, her strength is improved — her everything's improved," he said. "And her takeoff, she's jumping big. We had to make some little, fine adjustments to her approach because the speed's almost too much now. We're in a good place going into her final meet."
Kulickeno, who holds Georgia's school records indoors and outdoors, will begin her professional career after this week's NCAAs. And she heads toward the next chapter of her career, with a very busy summer schedule ahead, in a great place.
"It is definitely more fun than ever," she said of the high jump. "But at the same time, it's more serious for me than ever. And this is a good combination because I had a time when it was not so fun to me; I was so serious about it. Now, I am actually able to enjoy the competition no matter how it goes. Even if it's stressful, I'm still going to enjoy it."
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Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
Players Mentioned
High Jump
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