Soon after breaking the meet record at Wanda Diamond League Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial athletics meeting in Chorzow, Poland, on Sunday, Qatar’s quintessential high jump star Mutaz Essa Barshim exclaimed, “I’m on my way back!”

If you have happened to see Barshim’s 2.36m act of class at Chorzow (a quick video of which he’s also posted on his twitter account), it highlights the ability and quality of this three-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist. Jumping only a second time at a competition this year so far in front of a large crowd at the Silesian Stadium, the champion effortlessly sailed over the bar and then ripped off the bib thumping his chest with aggression and in delight indicating – here I am.

Even at 32, Barshim carries the strength and agility of a high jump athlete with which he’s shone since 2010 when he won the Asian Junior gold at Hanoi and the World Junior gold the same year at Moncton.

Fifteen more gold medals at regional, Asian and Olympic levels and at World Championships besides silver and bronze, the lissome Qatari athlete continues to shine like a bright star aspiring to achieve more with unwavering focus and conviction.

Having set the Diamond League high jump world lead in the country of his longtime Polish coach Stanislaw Szczyrba, Barshim said, “For me it is still early season, it is only my second competition. I am on my way back,” but added “I have been ill over the past month. My jumps today were good, but I am always looking for ways to improve.”

Barshim this year had earlier jumped to win at Doha’s Diamond League meeting in the first week of May.

Speaking of his performance at Chorzow, he stressed, “People look at my jumps and say they were great, but I usually think they were just ok. There are still things that I need to work on. I think I still have a 2.40 jump in me, hopefully this year.”

For someone who’s been unwell, a jump of 2.36m is clearly extraordinary. “It was a great competition today, with my rivals pushing me. I always say I would rather lose in a great competition than win in a bad one,” further said Barshim underlining his standards and steely resolve.

On the current heatwave in Europe bothering athletes, Barshim said, “The heat does not bother me. I come from Doha, this is pretty normal weather for us.”

Surely nothing seems to stop Barshim for doing what he does best – defying odds and gravity!

Just ahead of his second World Championships golden jump at Doha in 2019, the 6ft 3inches tall athlete had hit a big low following surgery for a chronic back at the Aspire Hospital. He was walking on crutches and a competition seemed too far for his return. But he did and wowed a 40,000 strong home audience at the Khalifa International Stadium living up to great expectations.

With a 2.40m jump gleaming in his eyes now, Barshim also has two major events to be ready for – the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary (August 19-27, 2023) where he’d be chasing a fourth consecutive world title, and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China (September 23-October 8) where he’d be eyeing a third Games gold.

At the Olympics, Barshim has won the full set of medals (bronze at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, and gold at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics).

Between now and the World Championships, Barshim could well be seen in action at the London Diamond League Meeting on July 23rd.

Recently named Best Asian Athlete for a second time in a row, Barshim has achieved almost all at the highest level except for the world-record jump. Barshim’s personal best has been 2.43m achieved in Brussels in 2014 followed by a 2.41 at Athlone in Ireland in 2015.

The world record is still held by Cuban Javier Sotomayor who cleared 2.45m at Salamanca in Spain in 1993 – a mark Barshim may well be looking to equal or even beat, although he prefers not to make any specific mention about.

Just to put things into perspective - A jump of 2.41m equals to 7 feet and 11.5 inches! Now imagine leaping even a five feet wall by yourself! That well signifies the greatness of these tremendous athletes.

Barshim’s statement of “I think I still have a 2.40 jump in me, hopefully this year,” could well be a sign of more glorious moments to come in the days ahead.

Yalla Barshim!

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