By Rizwan Rehmat
RIO DE JANEIRO/Doha: Qatar yesterday celebrated a memorable performance by poster boy Mutaz Essa Barshim who picked up a silver medal in the men’s high jump final at the Olympic Stadium. In a cliff-hanger of a final that finished at 4:30am, Canadian world champion Derek Drouin won the gold by clearing 2.38m as Barshim managed a top height of 2.36m.
Commenting on Barshim’s momentous achievement, President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani said: “On behalf of the whole Qatar Olympic Committee, we pass our huge congratulations to Mutaz Barshim for becoming Qatar’s first-ever Olympic silver medallist. This is the biggest achievement in Qatar’s Olympic history and we are so proud of him. We know that he will have inspired a new generation of sporting heroes and connected new audiences to Olympic sport. Qatar has made huge progress on the sporting field over recent years and I would like to pass my thanks to the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for all his efforts and dedication to developing sport in Qatar.”
After producing five clean jumps, Barshim faltered three times to clear 2.38m. It was Barshim’s second Olympic Games following his bronze in London four years ago. This is Qatar’s first silver medal in the Olympic Games. Prior to Rio 2016, Qatar had won four bronze medals.
Ukraine’s Bohdan Bondarenko — who finished a notch behind Drouin at the World Championships last year — yesterday settled for a bronze medal with 2.33m. “I will continue to work hard. My next target is the gold,” Barshim said after winning the silver medal. “I will be looking at a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics (2020),” he added with his trademark smile in place. “This medal is not just for me, it is for Qatar. This medal for the entire region,” Barshim said.
“The competition was tough but the battle was very interesting. All of us were competing for the medals knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. “I know all of my rivals really well,” the 25-year-old Qatari said. “The margin of gold and silver is not that much. It was just 2cm. Derek showed great concentration,” he said.
When asked about dedicating his medal to somebody, Barshim said: “I dedicate the medal to everyone, especially my mother.”
Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) President Dahlan Al Hamad said: “This is a tremendous achievement by Mutaz, him doing so well shows Asian athletics is on the right path. “Mutaz has done his country proud. It is a great achievement. We congratulate Mutaz and his coach on this fine performance.”
Al Hamad added: “Obviously, you won’t be able to see the hard work that went behind the scenes. The QAF provides Mutaz with world-class facilities and top-notch training coaches. Mutaz and his colleagues enjoy every support from us. “We will continue the good work. QAF will spare no effort to help Mutaz reach his goals in the future. We wish him all success.”
Drouin said he was proud of his performance. “There was obviously some pressure but I’m very proud of the way I jumped,” Drouin, who won bronze in London four years ago, said after the medal ceremony. “Four years ago I was very, very relieved but I didn’t think it was my best day. Now I thrive in situations like this and I would have been disappointed with anything less than gold,” the Canadian added.
The Peninsula
