Were Nicola Olyslagers not a world-class high jumper, she could be an orator or an analyst. Speak to her in the mixed zone with reporters after a competition, and she will break down her performance in detail.“Pressure reveals what is deep inside,” she said after earning silver at the world indoor championships in Torun, Poland, in March. That was the Australian’s sixth successive podium finish on the global stage, a run that includes three world titles and two Olympic silvers, and she could add to her medal tally next week at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.Olyslagers arrived in Poland in the middle of a training block, three weeks before the Australian Athletics Championships, and after just one competition in 2026. “I didn’t know if I was in international shape yet, that was a mental battle to overcome,” she said. “At every height, I had to trust that I could get up (to the bar).”She has a secret weapon that helps her keep faith: a notebook. In it, she meticulously grades every jump with nine different categories, each out of 10 marks, including how well she leans on approach, the build of the run to the bar, and her jumping technique. Below each line of numbers is a short instruction to guide her next attempt.“It helps me strategically to do my training after, to know what to work on,” she said at the Diamond League finals in Zurich, Switzerland, last August. “The lowest scores mean you’ve got work to do, girl!”There were big scores that day as she improved her own Oceanic record to 2.04 meters and won a first Diamond League title — she had been runner-up in the two previous seasons.Nicola Olyslagers’ notebook at the Diamond League finals in Zurich, August 2025. (Liam Tharme / The Athletic)She beat Olympic champion and world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh, with the competition taking place in intimate settings: a street meet beside Lake Zurich, where temporary stands were erected on three sides of the square that housed elevated high jump and pole vault runways, and a shot put circle.