Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim has won a medal at the last three major competitions — bronze at London 2012, silver at 2013 Moscow Worlds and gold at 2014 Indoor Worlds in Sopot, Poland. Right: Barshim (left) and beIN Sport’s executive director of Human Resources and Financial Affairs Tareq Zainal at a press conference announcing the Qatari high-jumper as the channel’s brand ambassador yesterday. PICTURE: Shemeer Rasheed

By Mikhil Bhat/Doha

Head to Mutaz Barshim’s Twitter page and the cover photo screams ‘What Gravity Huh?!!’.
The 23-year-old knows a thing or two about beating gravity; he has made an occupation out of flying face-up a couple of metres off the earth and is rather good at it.
So good in fact, that every time the Qatari lines up for his jump, the anticipation of Javier Sotomayor’s record biting the dust more than two decades after it was created rises to stratospheric levels.
So far, Barshim may have not been able to get past the Cuban’s record, but he has been getting close to it. Last month, he broke the 2.40m barrier twice indoors, lifting the Asian record to 2.41m at Athlone in Ireland.
He has won a medal at the last three major competitions — bronze at London 2012, silver at 2013 Moscow Worlds and gold at 2014 Indoor Worlds in Sopot, Poland.
When the outdoor season begins and meanders through the World Championships in Beijing in August, the clamour around Sotomayor’s mark will only increase.
One can only wonder about how the 23-year-old Qatari feels about the attention the record gets, even as his personal performance has only improved year after year.
“It’s a world record after all. It’s normal for people to talk about it,” Barshim said after signing a one-year deal with beIN Sports and becoming the channel’s brand ambassador yesterday.
“I feel people want me to do it [beat the mark]. They feel here’s a guy who can do it. So I treat it as a motivation.”
Asked to elaborate, he added, “It might happen, it might never happen. But as long as I am healthy, I push myself and try to improve and do my best… if I do it, good, if I don’t, I tried.”
Barshim has a busy season ahead. While many of his rivals are resting in preparation for the important outdoor season, he has already participated in four indoor competitions.
“I don’t care (about what the rivals are doing),” said Barshim, who will begin his season in Shanghai given that High Jump won’t feature at the opening event in Doha. “I am thinking about me. For me, if I think I am bored, I would want to go out and participate in some competitions. So I did that.
“I am healthy, which is important. I know it is going to be a long season, especially for me. I have four more competitions, including the Arab Championship and the Gulf Championship. It is important to stay healthy.
“I don’t want to do anything stupid. This year, there is the World Championship, and next year the Olympics. We will see, I will sit down with my coach and the team and see what’s best for us.”
Barshim’s deal with beIN Sports will focus on special coverage for him in addition to the financial support.
“He is not only an ambassador for us, but also an iconic athlete for all Arabs,” said beIN Sport’s executive director of Human Resources and Financial Affairs Tareq Zainal yesterday.
“He is an ideal example of a young athlete, who is able to represent our brand values and mission. Through this role, he will, no doubt, be a role model to other youth like him.
“We will support him in his career and we will celebrate with him his achievements. We believe that having Barshim as a brand ambassador will not only promote beIN Sports, but also contribute to recognising State of Qatar as a sporting hub for the region.”
Asked to talk about his new association, Barshim said, “For all my financial support, training camps, treatment, my team, etc., Olympic Committee takes care of that. There are a lot of partnerships out there but I don’t find being used properly. We had been looking for the right partnership.
“We are like family, we support each other in the right way. I am happy to sign here. beIN Sports works the same way as we want. I would want to be with people who believe in what I do and I really like that here.”