Doha, Qatar: A mere four centimetres separates the season’s bests of the top nine entrants, setting up a tightly contested high jump competition at the Tokyo World Championships - one where Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim will arrive as an outsider rather than a favourite.
Barshim, a three-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist, has cleared just 2.13m this season - 30 centimetres below his personal best. If he misses the podium, it will be the first time since the 2011 World Championships in Daegu that he fails to medal at a global outdoor event.
His long-time rival Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy is also not in top form, having managed a best of 2.20m in 2025. The two, who shared gold in the Tokyo Olympics, have been outpaced this year by a new crop of contenders.
Korea’s Woo Sanghyeok leads the field with a 2.34m clearance at the Diamond League in Monaco and also won the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing. Despite a calf injury that cut his European season short, he has downplayed concerns and remains a top medal hopeful.
Ukraine’s Oleh Doroshchuk also cleared 2.34m indoors this season and was recently beaten by New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr at the Diamond League final in Zurich.
Kerr won Olympic gold last year in a dramatic contest with US jumper Shelby McEwen. Unlike Barshim and Tamberi’s shared gold moment, Kerr and McEwen chose to compete for outright victory, with Kerr prevailing. McEwen has struggled to find form this year, with a best of 2.26m.
Two others - Jan Stefala of Czechia and Japan’s Yuto Seko - have cleared 2.33m in 2025. Seko’s jump was a national record, raising expectations as he competes on home soil in Tokyo.
Israel’s 22-year-old Jonathan Kapitolnik has also emerged as one to watch, progressing to 2.31m and winning the World University Games this season.
Italy’s Stefano Sottile returns as a two-time Olympian and cleared 2.30m this year. He’s joined by 19-year-old Matteo Sioli, who won European U23 gold and an indoor bronze earlier in the season.
