The prestigious gold-level Continental Tour World Athletics competition — Paavo Nurmi Games — is scheduled to take place on June 3 in the Finnish city of Turku. However, for one of the tournament's main favorites, Ukrainian high jumper Yulia Levchenko, the preparation for this event turned into a serious challenge, both athletic and medical.
Immediately before the start of the competition, the athlete suffered from severe food poisoning. In her social media, the track and field athlete admitted that she initially attributed the sudden deterioration of her well-being to acclimatization to new conditions. However, it later became clear that her body was fighting a much more serious problem.
The situation is complicated by the fact that recovery has already taken about a week. Despite physical weakness and exhaustion, Levchenko does not plan to withdraw from the tournament. For a professional athlete, such circumstances put not only the current result at risk but also future form.
"Since the starts were planned in advance, I will work with what I have. Pros — I am thin. Cons — where is the strength? God's plan is sometimes more complex than we can imagine," the athlete shared with her Instagram followers. These words reflect the complex dilemma faced by athletes: the need to perform at peak form versus the desire not to miss an important start.
Season of Victories and Current Challenges
The current season for the 28-year-old native of Bakhmut is going successfully. Before the incident in Finland, she had already demonstrated her high level. At the first stage of the 2026 Diamond League, which took place in Xiamen, China, Levchenko won the gold medal. In that event, she outperformed her compatriot Iryna Herashchenko, who took second place.
This success continued the progress started in the previous season. In 2025, the athlete successfully qualified for the Diamond League final, where she showed her best result in the last five years, clearing the bar at a height of 2.00 meters. It is precisely these achievements that make participation in the tournament in Turku critically important for consolidating her leadership positions.
Now, the attention of sports journalists and fans is focused on whether Yulia Levchenko can overcome the consequences of the poisoning and perform to her expectations. The start in Finland will be a test not only of her technical skills but also of her ability to mobilize her body under extreme conditions.
