History beckons as Barshim seeks a hat-trick at worlds

Tribune News NetworkDohaHaving sailed through the qualification on Friday, Mutaz Essa Barshim has moved a step closer towards clinching a third successive gold at the ongoing World Athletics Championships (Oregon22).The 31-year-old Qatari high jump icon will take centre stage alongside Italian Gianmarco Tamberi (with whom he shared the Olympic gold last year in Tokyo) and the emerging South Korean Woo Sang-hyeok among others in the finals at the Hayward Field on Monday, aiming to become the first high jump athlete to defend his world title for a third time."Imagine being the first and only one in history to do that. Now that I’ve done that before, it’s a highlight. That was winning it for the second time (Doha 2019 at Khalifa International Stadium), and now maybe it’s time to make history again and be the only one who wins three-times in a row! "I just want to go there and fight. I want to go out there to perform, and do what I do best,” was how Barshim put it when asked about his plans just ahead of his Oregon22 show.Barshim’s first world championships gold had come in London in 2017. He also won a worlds silver at Moscow in 2013.At the Olympics, besides the Tokyo 2022 gold, Barshim has also won two silver medals in 2016 (Rio) and 2012 (London). The 6’2” star also has two Asian Games gold medals to his name having won at Guangzhou in 2010 and at Incheon in 2014.Newer highs are perhaps what keep driving Barshim in his quest for excellence. It is also he perseverance which saw him overcome serious injuries in 2019. "I was training but I didn’t set any targets for any competitions. I remember after coming back from the injury to the home championship in Doha, I was the defending champion. Someone sent me an article which said that there’s never been any high jumper in history that won the competition twice in a row and that just got stuck in my head,” he recalled.In Doha, Barshim wowed the home crowds jumping a world leading 2.37m as the champion.He’s determined as ever now as another career milestone beckons – a historic world championships hat-trick of gold medals. "This is important to me because it’s the World Championships. It comes with the status and determines who’s the best out there. It doesn’t matter how you’ve been jumping the whole season. But now it matters,” stressed Barshim.If the qualification round is any indication as to how much Barshim is in the zone, then the Qatar athlete seems to be well on his way. He sailed well over 2.28m in his first attempt to be among the 13 high jumpers who made it to the final round. Barshim had been training in Los Angeles over the past few weeks ahead of Oregon22. "I was in Los Angeles for almost three weeks with my family as I prepared. Part of my training was at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center, shaking up some things as it’s my last prep before I headed out to Eugene,” he explained.Barshim has been an icon. Over the years, the track and field star has evolved, feeling the pressure build up with every achievement. Being in the spotlight has pushed Barshim beyond his comfort zone and developed his identity as a champion. "It has changed everything around me. I’m still the same person. But of course, it becomes much more difficult to do what I want to do. There’s a lot of attention, a lot of media, and people look at you as a role model. I think that’s part of being a professional athlete. The better you get, the more pressure is applied to you. It’s the kind of pressure that takes you to the next level. Now it’s time to think differently. I have gold medal in every major championship, so what’s next?”