Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim clinches a bronze in Olympic swansong
Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim brought the curtains down on his exceptional Olympic career with a bronze medal in Paris, leaping to his season’s best of 2.34M in the men’s high jump final at the Stade de France on Saturday.
New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr edged USA’s McEwen Shelby in the jump-off to win gold after both athletes failed to better the 2.36M mark.
أهنئ بطلنا الأولمبي معتز برشم على حصوله على الميدالية البرونزية في أولمبياد باريس 2024، لتنضاف إلى الميداليات الذهبية والفضيتين في مسيرته الأولمبية والإنجازات الكبيرة الأخرى في المنافسات الرياضية الدولية. لقد بت بهذه النجاحات أنموذجاً رياضياً مشرفاً وملهماً للأجيال في قطر، ممن… pic.twitter.com/phv02rsHTR
— تميم بن حمد (@TamimBinHamad) August 10, 2024
HH The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani congratulated Mutaz on his achievement.
“I congratulate our Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim on winning the bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, to be added to the gold and two silver medals in his Olympic career and other great achievements in international sports competitions,” Sheikh Tamim wrote on his profile on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“With these successes, he has become an honorable and inspiring sports model for generations in Qatar, who will contribute to raising the name of their country high in the fields of sports,” added Sheikh Tamim.
It was Mutaz’s fourth Olympic medal, having already won silver medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games and a famous gold medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
The 33-year-old, who clinched an unprecedented three back-to-back world titles, was hoping to make history by becoming the first high jump athlete to win two Olympic gold medals.
He got off to a great start, clearing 2.22M, 2.27M, 2.31M, and 2.34M in his first attempts before failing twice to clear 2.36M. He raised the bar at 2.38M for his last attempt, but failed again and settled for a bronze medal.
Mutaz prevailed over Stefano Sottile on countback, with the Italian finishing fourth after clearing 2.34M. Last month, Barshim had announced Paris would be his last Olympics.
In the jump-off, both Kerr and Shelby failed to clear the heights of 2.38M and 2.36M before the New Zealander sealed the title on 2.34M.
Meanwhile, it was heartbreak for joint Tokyo Olympics champion Gianmarco Tamberi, who was taken to hospital hours before the final.
The Italian, who famously shared gold medal with Barshim at the Tokyo Olympics, clearly looked in discomfort as failed to clear 2.27M after scaling 2.22M in his final attempt.
“10 hours have passed and the renal colic still hasn’t gone away,” Tamberi posted on Instagram ahead of the final on Saturday. “The pain I have felt since this morning, however strong, is nothing compared to what I am feeling inside.”
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