17 Aug 2016
Rio 17, August 2016. Rio silver medalist and Aspire Academy graduate Mutaz Essa Barshim revealed his delight at taking a call from His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani who congratulated him on his performance as well as expressing gratitude and pride on behalf of the nation.
Mutaz’s victory brought Qatari its first medal of the Rio 2016 Games and the first ever silver medal the country has won since first participating at the Olympic Games in 1984 in Los Angeles in United States.
Speaking afterwards the Aspire Academy graduate who has jumped 2.40m this year said he had decided not to make an attempt at that same height because, he wanted to secure the silver he had already attained. Mutaz was responding to a question about feeling any pressure from Ukraine’s Bohdan Bondarenko who made an attempt at 2.40m. “No it was actually the other way around, I believe he had more pressure since he failed 2 attempts in 2.36 he wanted to go for gold, for me if I had skipped the 2.38 and went for the 2.40, he might’ve had more chance to beat me, so I aimed to stay safe and keep the silver instead of giving him the advantage,” said Mutaz
Mutaz has gone one better at Rio after finishing as a joint bronze medalist with Great Britain’s Robbie Grabarz and Canadian Derek Drouin four years ago at London 2012 Olympic Games with a 2.29m jump.
An appearance at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games would be Mutaz’s third and sets up an interesting prospect of completing the sequence a challenge that the Aspire Academy graduate would relish. Canadian Derek Drouin cleared 2.38m to win gold in Rio leaving Mutaz sandwiched between him and Ukraine’s Bohdan Bondarenko bronze winner after clearing 2.33m. At the next Games in Tokyo, Mutaz will be 29, Drouin 30, Bonarenko 31 and Erik Kynard 29 and these names counting among the current elite in High Jump the event is bound to see more of the feisty and fascinating battles between these athletes with the Qatari gladiator, Mutaz Essa Barshim very much in the mix and thick of it all.