Barshim jumps 2.25m to kickstart Olympic year

Mutaz Barshim High Jump winner during the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha on the 4th of O

It may not have been a setting that he is used to but Qatar’s high jump star Mutaz Essa Barshim was more than happy to win gold when he returned to competition for the first time since he successfully defended his gold at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha. Barshim, returning from a career-threatening injury, had wowed a packed Khalifa International Stadium in October 2019, to become the first high jumper to win two straight world championship golds in history. At the Qatar Athletics Federation’s Field Championships at Qatar Sports Club earlier this week, Barshim, representing Al Rayyan Sports Club, jumped 2.25m to win a competition that kickstarts his preparation for the Tokyo Olympics later this year. While Barshim has flown over higher bars in his spectacular career so far, going over 2.40m for six straight years between 2013-2018, with his highest jump being the Asian record of 2.43 in Brussels (2014), the win on Monday perhaps gave him confidence and a benchmark after a long hiatus forced by the Covid-19 pandemic. The two-time Olympic medallist had himself tested positive in December last year.