Lake's medal hopes washed away in Tokyo downpour after stellar season

Photo credit: Sam Mellish for British Athletics

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Morgan Lake fell short of her own expectations as she missed out on a medal in the final of the women’s high jump at the World Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.

In a rain-affected final Lake was forced to settle for a share of seventh place with a best clearance of 1.93m, seven centimetres short of the height which sealed victory for Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers.

Lake - Team GB’s captain for the championships - travelled to Tokyo with real hope of a podium finish and genuine momentum behind her having become the first British female to clear 2m in Zurich a few weeks ago.

The Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow athlete had soared into Sunday’s final after comfortably clearing the qualifying mark of 1.92m, however, when the pressure was on in the final, she only managed to shift the bar up one further centimetre to clear 1.93m.

Three failed attempts at 1.97m meant she was forced to share seventh place with several other competitors and watch on as Olyslagers took gold with a clearance of 2m from Poland’s Maria Zodzik and Angelina Topic of Serbia, who both achieved 1.97m.

The event was marked by heavy rainfall which hampered all the finalists, however, Olyslagers was best able to cope with the awful weather conditions.

Morgan Lake shares seventh in the women's high jump with a best clearance of 1.93m #NovunaGBNI #WCHTokyo25 #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/N50GaIoSUx

— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) September 21, 2025

The result brings an impressive season to a slightly deflating end for Lake.

Working with new coach Yannick Tregaro at WSEH AC, she’s been consistently jumping close to the 2m mark and pushing the world’s elite for podium finishes.

At London back in July she claimed her first Diamond League triumph at the London Stadium with a clearance of 1.99m, while in Zurich two weeks ago she smashed the British record in clearing 2.00m for the first time in her career.

Before Sunday’s final she was one of only five female athletes to have cleared 2m this season and might have expected to get a little closer to Olyslagers, despite the conditions. Had she managed to clear 1.97m she would have been in with a shout of her first podium finish at a World Championships, having twice before finished fourth.

Conditions in qualifying also took a turn for the worse, during an unsettled championships in general, however, on that occasion, Lake was fortunate to be in the first group and avoided the worst of the weather.