It’s been a harrowing last 14 months for Mutaz Barshim. After the high of 2017, when the Qatari became the world high jump champion and was named World Athlete of the Year, Barshim had a nightmarish end to 2018.
Just when it looked like sky is the limit for Barshim, he suffered a serious ankle injury in July last year that not just scuppered his chances of breaking the 26-year-old world record but also ruled him out of the action for rest of the year. What’s worse was Barshim sustained injury while he came tantalisingly close to scaling a would-be 2.46m world record at the Gyulai Memorial in Szekesfehervar, Hungary.
Since then, it’s not only been a battle to get fit for the 28-year-old but also reclaim his rightful place at the top. Barshim made a winning comeback at Sopot Grand Prix Athletics in Poland in June with a modest jump of 2.27m, before finishing second with the same mark at the London Diamond League in July. But a 2.20m at the Diamond League final in Zurich, where he finished a distant 10th, shows it will take some time before Barshim attains his peak.
The later-than-usual scheduling of the World Championships at his home turf has given Barshim an extra time and cushion to defend his title. It will be foolhardy to rule out Barshim winning any silverware this Friday. However, it will be interesting to see how he tackles the qualification today, where the mark to qualify for the final is set at 2.31m. He would also sail into the final if he is one of the 12 best performers on the night.
With home crowd rooting for him at the Khalifa International Stadium, Barshim will need no extra inspiration and is ready to soar high again. On the eve of his event, Barshim spoke of his road to recovery.
“What was crazy was when I got out of surgery, a few hours ago, I was trying to jump a world record, and a few hours later I couldn’t even walk,” said the Olympic bronze and silver medallist in 2012 and 2016 respectively.
Now Barshim is determined to make history at his home turf. “I’m a person that loves sports. I really love track and field. I like to be active. It was a big challenge having to do the most, with the least training. But hey, I’m here though! We’ve got one more target to go, at the World Championships. I hope for the best then,” added Barshim.
One thing that will favour Barshim is the overall level of the event at the moment. Nineteen entrants in Doha have topped 2.30m or better this season, but of those, only four have successfully sailed over 2.33m. On only one occasion has a championships-eligible jumper who has topped 2.31m not emerged from a competition victorious.
So a jump of 2.30m, or even 2.29m, might be enough for Barshim to reach the podium at the World Championships. But the Qatari will have enough competition to counter this time.
Hot on his heels will be this year’s world leader Maksim Nedasekau. The 21-year-old Belarusian improved to 2.35m to win the Europe-USA match in Minsk earlier this month, but that is his only leap better than 2.30m this season.
Russians Ilya Ivanyuk and Mikhail Akimenko have chiselled together good seasons, both topping 2.33m and 2.31m. Andriy Protsenko of Ukraine, the fourth-place finisher at the 2016 Olympic Games, topped a 2.31m season’s best to win the Diamond League title last month.
Then there’s Bogdan Bondarenko, the 2013 world champion, who topped 2.31m earlier this season despite continuing struggles with injury. Syria’s Majd Eddin Ghazal, the world bronze medallist, is piecing together a season of firsts which he hopes to add to in Doha: jumping at Khalifa Stadium, he took his first Asian title in Doha in April at 2.31m and in July topped 2.30m in London to secure his first career IAAF Diamond League victory.
Others to consider include 2018 Diamond League winner Brandon Starc of Australia, who has topped 2.30m twice, most recently in Zurich; China’s Wang Yu, who topped 2.31m and 2.30m for victories in Shanghai and Nanjing; 2016 world indoor champion Gianmarco Tamberi, who is also on the rebound from injury; and 22-year-old Cuban Luis Zayas, who topped 2.30m to take the Pan-American Games crown.
