Nicola Olyslagers

BIOGRAPHY

Nicola Olyslagers (nee McDermott) became the first Australian woman in history to clear the elusive 2.00m barrier in the high jump, achieving the feat at the 2021 Australian Track and Field Championships. After raising the national record to 2.01m in July in Europe, she won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics with a new PB and national record of 2.02m.  The achievement was the first Australian medal in this event since 1964. Over the ensuring four years Nicola has now won a total of five global medals and is regularly challenging the world record holder and Paris Olympic champion, Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh.

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Ahead of her 2025 campaign coach Horsnell and Nicola had a plan for progression. She spoke about this at the Australian Championships in April after winning her sixth Australian title: “Last year and the year before I’ve attempted 2.05 a few times and I found every single time I was just coming up short. I had power but I didn’t have the momentum to get over the bar so World Indoors was the first time I tried out this new run with a bit more speed,” said Nicola.

“I’m really happy with the attempts. I think it’s just learning, once you’ve got that speed and power, now how to use it more to clear the bar.”

She opened her 2025 season with gold at the 2025 world championships defending her 2024 title. It was her fifth global medals and fourth consecutive.

Another incredible European campaign for Nicola with a break in July back in Australia. She closed winning her first Diamond League final and raising the Australian record to 2.04m.

Superlatives on her 2.04m performance:

-Seventh Australian record

-2025 World lead

-#16 World all-time list

-6 consecutive first attempt clearances at 1.91, 1.94, 1.97, 2.00, 2.02, 2.04.

-missed 2.06m

-15 of the last 16 seasons she has equalled or improved her PB

-DL podiums 30 podiums from 32 starts over the last 6 years

-18th competition over 2.00m

Nicola: “Today I had this peace inside of my heart, that something is going to change. I think I learnt a lot at the 2.06 jump.”

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From an early age, Nicola Olyslagers (nee McDermott) was tall for her age, but she admits due to a lack of coordination she was not good at sports. Introduced to athletics at school when she was aged seven, she won the majority of the events from shot put to 200m – she had found her niche, and her parents signed her up for Little Athletics.

From the age of 15, when Nicola cleared 1.73, she has gone on to equal or raise her PB 15 of the last 16 seasons to 2025. Aged 17, she made her international debut at the 2014 World Junior Championships, followed by an impressive fourth at the 2015 World University Games. In July 2017 when she cleared a personal best of 1.90m in Brisbane and shortly after was extended an invitation to compete, via the IAAF Roll Down Process, at the London World Championships, where she, unfortunately, no heighted. In late August she competed at the World University Games, placing seventh with a tremendous height of 1.88m.

In 2018 she was a surprise, medallist at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, but that was just a launching pad for her trail blazing 2019 season, where she increased her personal best by five centimetres to 1.96m. The height moved her to equal third Australian all-time, was the equal highest leap by an Australian for 25 years and was a Tokyo Olympic qualifier. The year included, competing at the prestigious Monaco Diamond league where she cleared 1.94m and placed third defeating many athletes with superior PBs.

In 2020 she negotiated the challenges of travelling and competing in Europe while COVID was rampant. On her 7-meet, 6-week tour, she cleared 1.90m in every competition, including setting a PB of 1.98m, just 1cm below the 1.99m Australian record set earlier in the year by Eleanor Patterson. The clearance by Olyslagers elevated her to equal number two Australian and gained her a number five world ranking for the year.

It brought her into her trailblazing 2021 campaign which saw her raise the national record on three occasions, win an Olympic silver medal and placed third in the Diamond League final.

Nicola made a late start to the 2022 season due to sickness. She opened her year in April, winning her third consecutive National title. On a four-meet International tour, she cleared a seasons best of 1.96m in Turku in June 2022. At her third World Championships in Eugene, Nicola matched her seasons best of 1.96m, to place fifth in the final.

Two weeks later at the Commonwealth Games she led the qualifying round, but withdrew from the final with a torn muscle in her jumping leg. But a month later she returned to competition to placed third in Brussels and third in the Diamond League final. After the Brussels competition she wrote: “It is a miracle to be back jumping in half the recovery time prescribed! I was only able to run a few days before the competition, so to get a podium finish to qualify for the Diamond League final is overwhelming.”

Nicola’s 2023 campaign was extraordinary. Nine wins from 10 starts and the loss was on countback ahead of winning bronze at the world championships in Budapest. At the Diamond League final she placed second raising the Australian record to 2.03m.

Nicola’s outstanding form continued in 2024, opening her season in Canberra with an Australian allcomers record of 2.03m. After a win in Melbourne, she claimed the World Indoor Championships title in Glasgow, clearing 1.99m. In April she won her fifth Australian title with a 2.01m clearance. At the conclusion of the championships she was selected for Paris, her second Olympic team.

After a slight injury setback in the leadup to Paris, Nicola jumped well a month out from the Olympics clearing 2.01m. In Paris in the Olympic final, she cleared 2.00m on her third attempt to clinch her second consecutive Olympic silver medal. Now a dual Olympic medallist, it elevated Nicola to rare company with names like Sally Pearson and Cathy Freeman.

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An inspiration and kindred spirit when Nicola was growing up was Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlasic. Nicola observed when Blanka attempted the world record, which must have been at one of the most terrifying moments in a career, Blanka had so much peace on full display. Being half-Croatian, it convinced Nicola she could jump like that.

A beautiful natured person, Nicola wants to be known in sport for the way she loved people more than the way she jumped high.

Early goal: “When I was 8 years old, I had a dream to one day be an international high jumper consistently jumping over 2 metres. I did not know the journey I would take to get there, but unknowingly I would one day be positioned to have everything I needed to reach that level. At 28 years old, the dream is now a working reality. I am an Olympic and World Medallist in High Jump, athletics.”… Advice to your young self…..”Have quiet confidence and trust in the process and plan for your life, no amount of worry will help you get ahead.”…Biggest challenge faced…..”Learning how to see myself as more than an athlete. I had put so much pressure on myself growing up to ‘make it’ as an athlete I’d lost my values and identity in the process – which would break me when I underperformed. When I faced that and let it go, I became so satisfied in who God says I am rather than allow my performances to determine my value. After facing that was when I started jumping in freedom, and began surpassing the sporting goals I set for myself.”…Influential people..…”The support of my personal coach Matt Horsnell who has been there from the beginning of my career, as well as the support I received from my school, Green Point Christian College. The teachers were passionate about my gift during my teenage years when sport seemed like a dream I wouldn’t reach.”…Education: Bachelor of Science  (Biochemistry) Sydney University 2015-2021. She admitted she struggled with the sport/life balance while studying….Australian record progression: 2.00 Sydney 18/4/21, 2.01 Stockholm 4/7/21, 2.02 Tokyo 7/8/21, =2.02 Lausanne 29/6/23, 2.03 Eugene 17/9/23, =2.03 Canberra 27/1/24, 2/04 Zurich 27/8/25

Nicola Olyslagers post – August 2022

Nicola posts in social media about her journey in the sport, usually referencing her Christian faith. This one post ahead of withdrawing from the Commonwealth Games high jump final in 2022, sums up a lot of her positive and supportive views.

“Unfortunately I won’t be competing in the finals tomorrow 😢 What was thought to be a tight calf after my qualifying round turned out to be a torn muscle in my jumping leg. Of all the emotions + shock I could feel in the moment, I still have peace. Winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games four years ago allowed my professional career as a high jumper to begin, it was a competition that changed the trajectory of my life. My prayer is that someone else’s dream comes alive tomorrow as I cheer them on from the sidelines. It might be a torn muscle but I have a full heart that even in times that make no sense I will be covered and back jumping soon. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Thank you for your support and for my team that did everything to get me here ❤️ Let’s go cheer Eleanor on as she jumps for Australia so well out there.”

@ 3 September 2025 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au