At the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Bykova and Meyfarth were the only to jumpers to clear 1.99 meters, but only Bykova could manage the next height of 2.01 meters, to become the inaugural world champion. The next meeting between the two came one month later at the European Cup in Crystal Palace in London. This time Meyfarth set a new world record by jumping over 2.03 meters, but only a few minutes later the Russian jumped over the same height to equal the world record, however she had needed one more attempt than the German and had to settle yet again for second place. Only four days later the two met again, this time in Pisa. This time though, Bykova came out on top with a new world record of 2.04 meters.