Barshim Rides Wave Of Enthusiasm Over High Jump Bar

By Brooklynn Loiselle, Special To DyeStat

High jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim, representing Qatar, became the first person to defend his world title in the event, winning gold in front of his home crowd in a world-leading 7 feet, 9.25 inches.

“It meant everything to me,” Barshim said. “I’m really happy that I got to do it at home for everybody that came out and supported and believed in me. I just want to do this for them. I wasn’t 100 percent ready, but they, they did that. They’ve been supporting me. I felt it a lot from the crowd.”

Friday’s high jump competition attracted the largest crowd to Khalifa International Stadium, and it prompted the loudest cheers of the championships.

The biggest drama came when Authorized Neutral Athlete Mikhail Akimenko cleared 7-7.75 on his first attempt, but Barshim missed his first two jumps at that height. He cleared the bar on his third jump with a significant amount of room to spare, and he didn’t miss for the rest of the competition.

“Of course, there was a lot of pressure, but I need pressure to jump,” Barshim said. “I love competing on a high ground with a strong field, so that was going to be my thing to push myself to the maximum.” 

Barshim is a two-time Olympic medalist, with bronze in 2012 and silver in 2016. For the citizenry of Doha, the men's high jump was the hottest ticket of the entire 10-day meet.

Akimenko and another Authorized Neutral Athlete, Ilya Ivanyuk, finished second and third, respectively, at the same height, 7-8.50 inches. It was a personal best for both.