Mutaz Barshim was a champion by the age of 19. Five years later, he is showing no signs of slowing down. He is particularly dominant in high jump, in which he holds the national and Asian records for his jump of 2.43 metres, set at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York in 2014. It was only 2cm off the world record.
Barshim set his first Qatar national indoor record in 2010 in Gothenburg with a jump of 2.25 metres, after which he went on to win the gold medal at the 2010 Asian Indoor and World Junior Championships and the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships and 2011 Military World Games. Following that, he won the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. He has sights set on his first Olympic gold medal at the Brazil event this year.
Barshim has credited his sporting success to his father, who was also a track and field athlete who competed in middle and long distance running. He told International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that he “grew up nothing special, like any kid in Qatar”. But in the eyes of Qatar and the world, Barshim is today without a doubt someone special.
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