DOHA (Qatar): Qatar’s star high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim qualified for the men’s finals after he topped the qualification chart on Friday.
Mutaz kicked off his bid to add a high-jump Olympic gold to his rich haul of medals as track events got underway on Friday.
“I’m trying to avoid injuries,” said the 30-year-old. “A couple of years back I was getting injured and it wasn’t so pleasant for me. So I’m trying to play it smart. More training and less competing.”
The Olympics carry extra significance for Barshim as a gold in the Games is the only medal he is yet to win in a distinguished high-jump career.
At the 2012 London Games, the Qatari won a bronze, which was later upgraded to silver, picked up another silver in Rio de Janeiro four years later and then won two successive world titles in 2017 and 2019.
Mutaz, who has competed sparingly since 2019, scaled a height of 2.28m to qualify for Sunday’s high-jump final.
“I’ve been waiting for five years for this. It’s the one I want and I’ll do what it takes to make it happen. I’m ready to go as high as it takes to win,” added the former Aspire Academy graduate.
