02 Oct 2019
Doha, 2 October 2019. Aspire Academy graduate and Qatar star athlete, high jumper, Mutaz Essa Barshim sailed through the qualifiers of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, to the final scheduled for Friday 4th October. Mutaz who is the defending high jump champion and the “poster boy” of the Doha 2019 Championships vowed to do his best to make the Qatari nation proud and happy.
Jumping in the qualifiers at Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday 1st October the 28-year-old Aspire graduate, cleared 2.29m to reach the final. Speaking afterwards Mutaz said, “The target was to reach the final on Friday and that has been achieved. In these championships, the aim is not about going for the record or a height, it’s all about medals at this stage. l want to win a medal on home soil and win it for the people of my beautiful nation, Qatar. I am calling upon my Aspire family to attend the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 and look forward to your support from the stadium on Friday in the final,” concluded Mutaz.
The Aspire graduate was cheered on by a partisan home crowd as he soared 2.29m his personal best for this year. The world champion has barely competed in the past 14 months following an ankle injury in July 2018 during the competition in Hungary.
Meanwhile also at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, Mutaz’s fellow Aspire graduate and Qatar athlete, Ashraf Amgad El Seify threw a season best 76.22m in the men’s hammer throw in Heat A of the qualifiers to reach the final scheduled for Wednesday 2nd October 2019.