Tokyo: Nicola Olyslagers’ prayers, and she makes a lot of them, were finally answered with the gold medal that has eluded her.

Having twice won Olympic silver and been a bronze medallist at the last world championships, the Australian high jumper has finally claimed gold in Tokyo at the world championships, clearing 2m.

The heavens opened with heavy rain causing the high jump to be suspended multiple times, though the track runners kept racing on through puddles. The interruptions and the rain did not distract the champion Australian or throw out her rhythm, instead she felt it was spiritual.

It made jumping harder and she felt it made her opponents try too hard and changed too much about what they were doing but she had safeguarded a medal place by then.

A devout Christian who runs h

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