VIDEO: Sky's the limit for Qatar's high jumper Barshim

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  • Flying high: Mutaz Essa Barshim was crowned high jump World Indoor Champion and won three Diamond League events in 2014.

    The sky is the limit for Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim.

    The 23-year old is a laid-back individual with a permenant smile, but underneath his relaxed exterior lies a determined athlete that is taking the world of track and field by storm.

    – #Quiz360: WIN dinner for 2 at Media Rotana
    – Doha named host of 2019 World Chamionships
    – #360Awards: Regional Sportsman of the Year 2014

    Born in Doha into an Afro-Arab family, Barshim overcame a serious back injury to become the Indoor World Champion at this year’s Sopot Games with an Asian record jump 2.38 metres.

    When quizzed about his remarkable 2014, Barshim points to his unrelenting rivalry with Ukranian jumper and European record holder Bohdan Bondarenko as the most important factor in his consistency.

    Epic battles between the pair have become a constant feature of the Diamond League and have illuminated the 2014 athletics season.

    The jumpers finished the year 7-7 in head-to-head competition and 3-3 in Diamond League victories, which is a testament both to their domination and their consistency.

    World Championships at home

    The 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar will break new ground as it will be the first time a country from the Middle East has hosted the blue-ribband event.

    This statement from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is clear: That athletics wants to strengthen its ties with one of the fastest-growing sporting hubs in the world.

    Doha boasts an impressive athletics-hosting resume including the 2006 Asian Games, the 2010 World Indoor Championships and an annual leg of the Diamond League that more than qualifies the tiny desert state to host an event of this importance.

    There is no doubt that the Championships will arrive in a country brimming excitement with the Football World Cup just three years later but one athlete is particularly excited for the desert state to be hosting the crown jewel of IAAF events.

    We caught up with Mutaz in Dubai where he explained why Qatar’s weather will not be an issue, how he maintains his motivation to break Javier Sotomayor’s World Record and how it feels to be nominated in Sport360’s Regional Sportsman of the Year award.

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