23 Aug 2023
Aspire Academy graduate, Mutaz Barshim, made history on Tuesday evening in Budapest, Hungary as he became the first man to win five World Athletics Championship high jump medals.
He missed out on being the first high jumper to win four consecutive world titles but his bronze medal for Qatar puts him one medal ahead of the legendary Cuban Javier Sotomayor (2 gold, 2 silver) and Russia’s Yaroslav Rybakov (1 gold, 3 silver).
Barshim cleared 2.33m and finished behind his Italian friend Gianmarco Tamberi, with whom he shares the Olympic title, as he claimed gold with a first-time clearance at 2.36m. The USA’s JuVaughn Harrison won silver thanks to his clearance at 2.36m on his second attempt.
Barshim did not seem too disappointed with his bronze medal as he jumped into the crowd to celebrate with fans and the Qatar Athletics Federation coaching team.
The bronze medal from Budapest goes alongside Barshim’s three gold medals: from London 2017, Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022 as well as a silver from Moscow in 2013.
He narrowly missed out on a sixth medal as he finished fourth at the 2015 championships in Beijing, despite jumping the same height as two athletes who won joint silver. He missed the medal due to a failure at an earlier height.
Two other Aspire Academy graduates gained valuable international experience in Hungary with Bassem Hemeida reaching the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles and Moaaz Ibrahim competing in the discus.
The trio will now be preparing to represent Qatar at the Asian Games that begin in Hangzhou, China on 23 September.