President of the Qatar Olympic Committee and Chairman of the Supreme Organising Committee of the IAAF World Athletics Championship Doha 2019 HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani crowned Qatar's international and Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim with the gold medal of the high jump competition on Saturday.

Bersham on Friday retained his title as world champion in high jump which he achieved at the world championships in London in 2017 to become the undisputed champion after clearing 2.37 meters in the first attempt.

Barshim beat Russians Mikhail Akimenko (2.35 m) and Ilya Ivanyuk (2.35 m by attempt), who competed under a neutral flag due to the suspension of the Russian Athletics Federation.

Barshim's gold is the second medal for the Qatari team after Abdulrahman Samba's bronze in the 400 meters hurdles.

Earlier, the Asian and Qatari federations dedicated Barshim's win to the wise leadership.

President of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) Dahlan al- Hamad expressed his delight with Barshim's win, saying that the athlete's return from injury and overcoming all obstacles proved once again that he is the world's best . He added that Barshim's achievements add to the gloss of Qatar's organisation of the competition, and delights Qatari citizens and residents alike.

President of Qatar Athletics Association Dr Thani bin Abdulrahman al-Kuwari expressed his pride at Barshim's defence of the high jump title. He said what the Qatari athlete did was a great accomplishment, given he just returned from injury. He stressed that the support of the country's wise leadership to sport was the main reason to the excellent performance of Qatari teams and sportsmen in different competitions.


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