Barshim delivers gold in front of Qatar’s Emir

Barshim, who in a farcical moment appeared for his medal ceremony in an empty stadium before the three medallists were hurriedly ushered off and told to return on Saturday, revealed he had chatted with the country’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

https://www.facebook.com/WorldAthleticsClub/videos/2102931433141418/

 

Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT) – gold

On how it felt having a big crowd loving him tonight:

“I am really happy, it feels amazing, it feels great. I have won a lot of medals but this one was at home. So, it feels different. Everybody came there supporting me a lot, I just wanted to do it for them. They are the champions tonight, not me.

“I wasn’t 100 percent ready, but with all these people cheering for me like this I just forgot everything. I felt like, OK it doesn’t matter what happens tonight, if I injure myself if it’s my last competition, I am gonna push everything out.”

On he feels he will inspire the “young Barhsims” in the Aspire Academy, the same school he graduated from:

“Aspire Academy is my home. I have a lot of great memories. They gave me the opportunity to be who I am. As soon I settle down I will come to Aspire to talk to the kids, to let them know they can do it. ‘I was one of you guys. We have great facilities, we have great support and I believe you can achieve a lot.’

“This achievement can inspire a lot of people. I hope I will see many Barshims in the future or even better athletes than me.”

On he thinks he can inspire more athletes, other than high jumpers, with his victory:

“I don’t think it’s only for the high jumpers. It’s for all athletics. People that came here today, they witnessed everything. Running, throwing. That’s what I love about athletics. There’s so much action happening at the same time. You are not going to be bored sitting there. I love it.

“Everyone today got a taste that it’s not the same when you watch it from the tv, you don’t get that extra feeling as when you are in the stadium.”

 

On if he had any doubts on his performance coming from an injury:

“I think one year ago I got off he crutches, I took my first step. My injury was very serious, it would have meant a career-ending. Then you start questioning yourself, it’s normal when you are facing a difficult situation.

“I have a book coming out I will talk about this experience specifically with all the details.

On what HH the Emir told him after the competition:

“He was very excited, very happy. I went to see him after the end of the competition and he said ‘Well done. I have no words to say. You did everything, more than I expected’. He’s really happy, he’s proud and I am proud too.

On if he was in shape to jump 2.40 if he needed to:

“I respect everyone. Everyone was here to do his best, the best guys in the world, so you get ready for everything. I don’t know, I was so focused for the gold. It is possible, I don’t’ know. If somebody would have jumped that, I would definitely have been ready in my home championships, but at 2.37 I had to stop I didn’t want to risk it.”

On if he felt pressure before and during the competition:

“Of course, there is pressure, there is always pressure, but I need that pressure to jump. I love to perform in a field where everybody is strong, a lot of crowd. I think this is an extra push. Pressure in sports, can be positive and can actually help you. I needed that.”

On what he was thinking in his third attempt at 2.33:

“In a third attempt you simply say ‘I am just going to do it’. I am not thinking about tactics or technique. I just have to put everything I have now, to survive. That was going through my mind, use the power that I have, because that would be my last job. I don’t have to save energy.”

On if he feels like a legend and on if he has already switched his mind on Tokyo 2020:

“I am not a legend, sometimes legends are not true.

“In sport you always think of what’s next. I need to relax to have a vacation, I need to be fat, eat everything that I can. There are a lot of things I want to do, take my mind at ease.

“The most important thing is to be healthy. I need to go back to my doctor, do a full check-up again, see how my leg is, when can we start, how ready I will be.

“Tokyo is a big target, but how can I approach it if I don’t really know yet. I need to speak with my coach, my team and see what the plan for the next season will be. My coach is a master. He has something in his mind.”

On if he is going to get an extra gift form the federation or the government:

“Nobody promised me everything. I am not doing high jump for gifts. If I was going this I would have stooped a long time ago. This is something that I love, I started this when I was young. When I am happy I do high jump, when I am sad I do high jump, when I am angry I do high jump. It’s just a way to express myself.”

On the empty seats on the previous days:

“Have you seen the stands today? I think we changed that. I didn’t ask them to come today, I am jumping and they just showed up, the stadium was full. They believed in me, they supported me and I believe this will spark something, for the nation itself, for the upcoming events. Today I saw the joy in people’s eyes. They didn’t believe it, now they do and I think they will come back.”

 

MIkhail Akimenko (ANA) – silver

On how it felt to win a medal and if it’s a dream come true:

“I need to analyse the technique and the jumps, maybe I need to have some rest. To think about the future but I cannot say my dream came true today.

On how it felt to compete against Mutaz in his home championships:

“We came as guests to Qatar and we wouldn’t like to alter that impression as very good guests. It was a great atmosphere tonight unlike in the qualification round and that was perfect. I am very happy for Mutaz, he managed to cope with all the injuries and came back strong.”

On if Mariya Lasitskene’s victory inspired him and on if he celebrated the medal along with her:

“I watched her winning from the stands here. I am always supporting her, not just because we are doing the same event, but because we are from the same city. We’ve been known each other since we were 5 years old, we’ve been at the same sports school, not with the same coach, though.”

“As for the celebrations, no we didn’t do it together.”

On what he was thinking in Mutaz’s third attempt at 2.33:

“When he cleared with his third attempt, I wasn’t really thinking about that. We had to jump more, we had to continue the competition and I had to jump higher if I wanted a medal.”

 

Ilya Ivanyuk (ANA) – bronze

On how it felt to win a medal and if it’s a dream come true:

“In my second World Championships I won my first medal. I didn’t realise it up to now. I cannot say it is a dream come true but I am very glad I showed my best result with a personal best.”

On if Mariya Lasitskene’s victory inspired him and on if he celebrated the medal along with her:

“I was in the hotel when she took the gold medal. The weather in Qatar is extreme for me and I cannot stay more than five minutes out. I watched from my computer along with my coach.”

 

POS	BIB	ATHLETE	COUNTRY	MARK	DETAIL	2.19	2.24	2.27	2.30	2.33	2.35	2.37
1	1596	Mutaz Essa BARSHIM	QAT	2.37	WL	O	O	O	O	XXO	O	O
2	110	Mikhail AKIMENKO	ANA	2.35	PB	O	O	O	O	O	O	XXX
3	112	Ilya IVANYUK	ANA	2.35	PB	O	O	O	O	XXO	O	XXX
4	281	Maksim NEDASEKAU	BLR	2.33		O	XO	XO	XO	O	X-	XX
5	567	Luis Enrique ZAYAS	CUB	2.30	PB	O	O	O	O	XXX
6	175	Brandon STARC	AUS	2.30	SB	O	XO	XXO	O	XXX
7	411	Michael MASON	CAN	2.30		O	O	O	XXO	XXX
8	1386	Hup Wei LEE	MAS	2.27		O	O	XO	XXX
8	1114	Gianmarco TAMBERI	ITA	2.27		O	O	XO	X-	XX
10	472	Yu WANG	CHN	2.24		O	O	XXX
11	1925	Jeron ROBINSON	USA	2.24		XO	O	XXX
12	1589	Luis CASTRO RIVERA	PUR	2.19		O	XXX