Maria Kuchina, winner of the high jump at the IAAF Continental Cup Marrakech 2014 (© Getty Images)
Maria Lasitskene's winning streak of 46 competitions ended this year with a third-place finish in Rabat, but apart from that one slip-up, her form has been impeccable with world indoor, European and IAAF Diamond League titles added to her resume in 2018.
With a best of 2.04m, she is also the world leader by some margin and will once again start as a strong favourite.
European bronze medallist Marie-Laurence Jungfleisch has enjoyed a strong season, clearing a season's best of 1.96m. The German often saves her best jumps for the latter half of the season so she may approach her lifetime best of 2.00m in Ostrava.
With a season's best of 1.96m, Commonwealth champion Lavern Spencer of Saint Lucia leads the Americas entries. The experienced 34-year-old also took the NACAC and Central American and Caribbean Games titles this year.
Uzbekistan's Svetlana Radzivil is another athlete in the field with a major title to her name. The 31-year-old looks to be rounding into shape at the right time with a 1.96m winning mark at the recent Asian Games, her highest jump in four years.
Pawel Jackowski for the IAAF
