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Tokyo 2020: Barshim lives up to top billing, qualifies for high jump final

Gold is the only place to go for the 30-year-old, who is widely considered the best high jumper of the past decade, if not of his generation.

Mutaz Essa Barshim

Bengaluru, July 30: Qatar's world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim, one of the favourities to win the high jump gold at Tokyo 2020 Olympics, cleared 2.28M to top Group A to qualify for the finals.

The high jump finals of Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games will be held on Sunday (August 1) at 3.40pm IST, with Sony Sports Network channels airing it live.

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Qatar is pinning its hopes on the double world champion to win its first gold medal at Olympics.

Barshim has been making a steady progess on the circuit. Bronze in London 2012, Silver at Rio 2016. Back-to-back world titles followed in 2017 (London) and 2019 (Doha), the latter in front of a vociferous home crowd at the Khalifa International Stadium that capped a marvelous comeback from career-threatening injury.

Gold is the only place to go for the 30-year-old, who is widely considered the best high jumper of the past decade, if not of his generation!

Tokyo 2020: Four stars to watch out for in athleticsTokyo 2020: Four stars to watch out for in athletics

Barshim has scaled 2.40M 11 times since 2013 - only Cuba's world record holder Javier Sotomayor, with 17, has more successful clearances at that formidable barrier.

His personal best of 2.43M in the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Brussels is the second-best jump of all times in world history.

The Qatari later had the bar raised to a would-be world record of 2.46M and came tantalisingly close on his first try, grazing the bar slightly on his way up before it fell, almost with hesitation, softly to the ground. He would later characterise it as one of his best jumps ever.

He has been is eyeing Sotomayor's long-standing record of 2.45M set at the IAAF Salamanca Grand Prix meet in Spain in 1992 and Tokyo would be the perfect stage.

Ruptured ligaments had end his 2018 season early and even cast a doubt on a successful world title defence.

But when he returned to action in 2019, the Aspire Academy trained athlete competed only three times prior to the 2019 World Championships at home, producing modest results -- a pair of back-to-back 2.27M clearances and a 2.20M in Zurich -- just one month before Doha.

Back home and on centre stage, he performed admirably, staying alive with a third attempt clearance at 2.33M before taking command of the competition with first attempt successes at 2.35M and 2.37M.

Only concern is Barshim's recent form. He has not jumped that high since a 2.40M clearance at the Gyulai Memorial in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, on July 2, 2018.

Barshim has competed just four times this season, but better than he did in his 2019 Athletics World Championships Doha lead-in, topping 2.30M on three occasions.

Assuming a similar approach, come Sunday Barshim's competitive ferocity will be difficult to beat. Bring it on!

Story first published: Saturday, July 31, 2021, 23:05 [IST]
Other articles published on Jul 31, 2021