There will be five Qatar athletes who will be in action on Wednesday at the Paris Olympic Games. But the spotlight will be firmly on Mutaz Essa Barshim, the high jump legend who is seeking to defend his gold in his Olympic swansong. The three-time World Champion has already stated that Paris Games will be his last Olympics and Barshim will be determined to add a fourth Olympic medal, having won a silver each at 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games before sharing the gold famously with Gianmarco Tamberi in Tokyo in 2021.
Barshim will be in action on Wednesday in the qualification at 11am Qatar time, with 2.29 metres needed for automatic entry into the final, which is scheduled for Saturday.
With a personal best of 2.43m and season best of 2.31m, qualifying for the final will be least of concern for the 33-year-old.
Barshim has had a low-key build up to the Paris Games and has struggled with injuries.
He withdrew from the last major competition before the Games, at the London Diamond League meeting, just moments before the event began, while standing on the track as he complained about lack of adequate space for the run-up.
Barshim has yet to show his best form this year, with a highest jump of 2.31m so far, which opens the door for other contenders, with Italian Tamberi the early favourite.
Tamberi produced the biggest leap of the year – 2.37m – to win his third consecutive European title in Rome in June, but announced three weeks ago that he had sustained a minor thigh injury and would need at least a week off to receive treatment.
To add further to his troubles, Tamberi was in hospital with a suspected kidney stone last week and delayed his arrival to Paris. It remains to be seen if the 32-year-old will be able to take the field on Wednesday and if he does how fit he will be to give his best.
“All I can do is wait and pray,” he said. “Only one thing is certain, I don’t know how I will get there, but I will be there on that platform and I will give my soul until the last jump, whatever my condition will be.”
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s world indoor champion Hamish Kerr has been the most consistent competitor this year, clearing 2.36m to win his first global title in Glasgow, and backing up with wins in Monaco (2.33m) and London (2.30m) on the road into Paris.
He fell short of reaching the World Championships final in Budapest last year, but he rebounded with a 2.33m win in Zurich 11 days later. Since then, he has developed considerable momentum and belief at the highest level.
But the rest of the contenders have yet to catch fire this year. Only seven men have registered clearances above 2.30m. Apart from Tamberi, Kerr and Barshim, they include world silver medallist JuVaughn Harrison (2.34m), fellow US jumper Shelby McEwen (2.33m) and Korea’s 2022 world indoor champion Woo Sanghyeok (2.33m).
Only one thing is certain: Tamberi and Barshim will not share the gold this year. The close friends have already agreed that if they were tied again in Paris, they would do a jump-off this time to decide the ultimate winner.
