Barshim soaring to new heights after Olympic heroics

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  • In London last summer, he became only the fourth Qatari to ever win a medal at the Olympics and he did it by completing a brilliant 2.29m jump to take the bronze medal in the men’s high jump competition.

    Since then, Mutaz Barshim has been catapulted into hero status in his country and the 21-year-old admits things have been different for him after becoming an Olympic medallist. But he insists he prefers to look ahead rather than dwell on past success.

    “It was a historical achievement not just for Qatar, but for all Arabs and Muslims and I thank God for that medal,” Barshim said at the inauguration ceremony of the Anti-Doping Lab Qatar yesterday.

    “It brought me and my family so much joy, and I could see how so many people from all over the world were so happy for me.

    “I feel my life has changed a bit since my bronze medal, but all in a positive way. But now it’s important to forget about everything that has passed and the magnitude of that achievement, so I can focus on training because that was just a starting point for me, not the end, that’s for sure. I am looking ahead to the future now.”

    Barshim’s success in high jump did not start with the London Games. The young Qatari made waves on the global stage when he became World Junior Champion in 2010, a year he also was crowned Asian Indoor champion and Asian Junior champion.

    A year later, he won gold at the Asian Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, where he set a national record of 2.35m. Earlier this year, he defended his Asian Indoor gold medal, setting an Asian record in the process in Hangzhou, China, before his historical triumph at the Olympics. A much-needed vacation followed.

    He says: “I took a month off – lots of celebrations, I took a vacation with my family, then another one with my friends.

    “But now I’ve returned to training twice a day because I’m preparing for the West Asia Athletics Championships in Dubai this Thursday. And I’ll be preparing for the new season which kicks off in January.”

    Having already achieved so much, Barshim shows no signs of slowing down. He adds: “I don’t have a specific goal that I want to reach and then forget about sport.

    “That’s not me. Every time I achieve something, I want to achieve more and more.

    “Obviously sport has limits in terms of age, but hopefully without injuries I can try to achieve as much as I can and when I’m done I can recount my achievements and think of how much I’ve done.”

    He finds it his duty to use his achievement to inspire the youth of his country, and envisages several Olympic medals for Qatar.

    “We can see how sport has evolved a lot in Qatar over the past few years in many different sports.

    “We can see all the new clubs and academies coming up, and the efforts of the Qatar Olympic Committee and our leaders – His Highness the Emir and His Highness the Heir Apparent have give us unlimited support. Qatar is becoming a sports capital of the world.

    “It’s changed the perception of the youth, who are now participating more and more in sport when they see all those new facilities, and someone like me or Nasser Al Attiyah, or other champions who can act as role models for them.

    “On our side we have to do our part to encourage them and show them how they can love sport. “Hopefully our future will see several Olympic medals.”

    On his own idols, Barshim added: “Of course in Qatar, Nasser Al Attiyah is a huge inspiration.

    “He opened doors in sport for all of us. We always see him as an idol.

    “In my sport, Artur Partyka was a huge inspiration. He’s such a great champion with a great personality.

    “He helped me and encouraged me a lot, calling me before competitions and giving me great pep talks. He’s my role model.”

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