Barshim unveils the hidden sides of his training camps in Doha

Being an elite high jumper, a two time world champion, and an olympic medalist, Barshim has set the bar very high in this track and field sportive discipli...

Being an elite high jumper, a two time world champion, and an olympic medalist, Barshim has set the bar very high in this track and field sportive discipline. To be all of the above requires commitment and dedication on several fronts, two traits that Barshim never failed to show throughout his sportive career. More recently in early 2020, Barshim embarked on his journey towards one of his biggest milestones, attaining the world title at the big games. He continues with his quest for the gold medal, one training camp after the other.After the mountain training he took us through in the first chapter of his docu-series “Jump for Gold” in Zakopane, Poland, we now fly back with Barshim to his home town Doha for the pre-2020 season training camp. As Barshim narrates his own story in chapter two of the docu-series, we discover what Qatar means to him and how being in his hometown impacts him positively on a physical, mental, and emotional level.Dating back to early March 2020, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, what makes this training camp extra special? To Barshim, it’s bieng at “Home”. “We are in Doha, Qatar, and that’s home...”Barshim marks Qatar as his all-time favourite place to train and compete. “It’s where I have all my memories, all my childhood, it has a deep place in my heart.”The nature of Barshim’s athletic career stipulates that he’s constantly on the go, but to him its always good to be back home. Showcasing his national pride, Barshim takes the viewer through a virtual journey between the old and new Doha. “Its very nice to travel all around and discover so many different clutures, yet nothing beats coming back to your hometown,” he adds.From his training sessions and daily routine to a walk down memory lane at the Khalifa Stadium, being in Doha with his crowd and people fuels Barshim. “I would take it way back to the Khalifa Stadium at the start of my athletic career. I spent a lot of time at this stadium and I had always promised myself that one day I will compete here on a world stage,” Barshim adds as he reminices about the day he won the world title for the 2nd time in a row in 2019 in Doha. “The home support, my people are the real champions who lift me up that day and made me come back stronger and achieve the best title here in my hometown” he expresses. Qatar provides Barshim the perfect setting to prepare for any competitive season. “Just the idea that here in Doha is where it all began, where I took my first steps, it means a lot. Every street, building, and corner has a sentimental value to me.” With each training camp, the athlete is taking one step forward towards the one gold medal that is still missing from his collection. Being in Doha takes a positive toll on Mutaz not only emotionally but also elevates the level of his physical training. As the 2nd training camp in his journey towards Tokyo, the sessions in Doha advanced to more intense and dynamic ones to start catching up with some high jumps later in spring 2020.“My training schedule consists of two sessions a day, speed workout in the morning at the outdoor field in Al Sadd Sports Club to strength and gym sessions in the evening at the indoor Gym and Outdoor Warm Up track at Aspire Academy,” Mutaz explains. He highlights the high level of technicality and detailed elements that go into these sessions and how each execrcise paves the way towards a better performance by the day.Being an athlete of an individual sportive discipline like track & field doesn’t necessarily mean training alone. Under the supervision and guidance of his polish coach Stanislaw Szczyrba, Barshim is joined by his training partner aspiring Qatari high jumper Hamdi Al Amine.To Hamdi Al Amine, Mutaz is a role model he looks up to and is inspired by his journey. “The pressure on my shoulders when training with a world-class athlete like Mutaz is immense,” says Hamdi. “I still have a long way ahead and Mutaz is always very supportive and gives me on- point feedback,” he adds. Competing in the same discipline and training with the same coach created a synergy between Mutaz and Hamdi. “ It’s a humbling experience to learn from someone as inspiring, dedicated, and down to earth like Mutaz,” he mentions.To Mutaz its very important to give back to his teammate and work together towards the better of the sport. “We have a good chemistry Hamdi and I. He’s a good guy, an athlete with a lot of potential and we get along really well,” he mentions. They both highlight the importance of supporting each other to give out their best performance.Discpline is key to Mutaz when at a training camp, even when he’s in his hometown Doha. “Im home but im not really home. I stay at the hotel with the team and this is very important,” says Mutaz as he stresses on the impotance of discipline and commitment to drive his way forward in his sportive career.Focusing on the end goal and bigger picture of success drives Mutaz forward and makes him adapt to all what the training requires. “The whole process is like a puzzle that needs to come together. From diverse training sessions to recovery sessions and Physiotherpay in between, adding to it good mental health and nutrition,” he explains. What matters most to Mutaz Barshim is to be ready for the big challenge he was set to take on in 2020. With every training camp comes a set of learnings for Mutaz and his coach and techniques that need improvement. “Our discipline is extremely technical, and no matter how hard we are working, we cant say we are at the best place. There’s always room of improvement,” wraps up Mutaz at the end of this chapter of his docu-series “Jump for Gold”.Commenting on the series release, Barshim says: ’’It’s great to hear all the opostive feedback from the people who watched the 1st chapter and enjoyed the story.”As he deep-dives further into his world in chapter 2, Barshim is set to unveil new sides he shares for the first time about his life in his hometown Doha. Composed of 5 chapters, “Jump for Gold” will take the viewer on a virtual journey with Barshim to each training camp held in a different country and how each has its own impact on him physically, mentally and emotionally.The docu-series has launched in partnership with Red Bull and full episodes are available to watch on https://www.redbull.com/mea-en/projects/mutaz-barshim-jump-for-gold What’s coming up next? The upcoming chapters will unveil more stories from Mutaz on how the COVID-19 Outbreak started having a toll on the world and impacting him personally and on a professional level, moving on to his return back to the new normal late 2020/early 2021.