Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim produced a great jump of 2.40m for the world’s leading mark of the year and the newly-crowned world champion took the bar as a bonus. 
Barshim hadn’t jumped or jogged, let alone trained, since winning the world high jump title exactly one week ago, but the Qatari looked full of life as he bounded over 2.40m at the Muller Grand Prix, providing the highlight of the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham yesterday.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Qatari, though. Having led up to and including 2.28m with first-time clearances at each height, he brought the bar down at 2.31m. World bronze medallist Majd Eddin Ghazal then applied pressure by going over that height on his first attempt.
After one more miss, Barshim got over it on his third try to remain in the competition. He then went clear at 2.33m and 2.35m, at which point Ghazal retired from the competition. Barshim then had the bar set to 2.39m and clipped it with his heels on his first try. After an unconvincing second attempt, he requested for the bar to be upped to 2.40m. With his final attempt of the day, he slinked over the bar with absolute precision to break his own meeting record.
Having jumped that landmark height each season since 2013, Barshim now becomes the first man in history to clear 2.40m or higher for five consecutive years. His winning jump was also the first 2.40m leap on British soil since 2000.
“I am really happy with this height,” grinned Barshim. “I am pushing for the world record and really want it. I’m taking that bar home. I am going to store it somewhere and no one else is going to have it.”
In the final event of the day, British athletics legend Mo Farah cruised home in the 3,000m at the Birmingham Diamond League meeting.
Despite his presence the meeting was not a sell-out.
For a final time in Britain — he runs in Zurich on Wednesday before embarking on a road running career — Farah knelt to the ground and kissed the track before adorning himself bare-chested with the Union Jack flag. 
“It’s been an amazing week,” said Farah. “I have been tired but had a little downtime with family. Emotion was high, not as high as London but it was the last time at home. While I was racing I was just trying to think about race and who was there.
“It means everything to me to be four times Olympic champion (2012/16 doubles) it is all I dreamt of as a youngster was running for Britain,” added Farah, who came to Britain aged eight with his mother and two of his brothers form war-torn Somalia.
“A hobby has become a job which is what you want. Going to the road will be a new game and a new mindset, I am excited.” 
Jamaica’s double Olympic individual sprint champion Elaine Thompson put behind her a disappointing performance in the 100m world final to win the event in 10.93sec.
Thompson’s bitter rival Dafne Schippers, the 200m world champion in London, finished down the field. 
There was to be frustration for Adam Gemili in the men’s 100m — an all British affair — as the man credited with running the decisive leg in their epic 4x100m relay world victory was disqualified for a false start.
CJ Ujah — another member of the victorious 4x100m quartet — won the race, for his fourth victory of the season on the circuit.
American star Aries Merritt bounced back from his fifth place in the 110m hurdles world final — though he said it felt like a victory having had a kidney transplant just two years ago — to win the event on Sunday.
The 31-year-old held off the late charge of world silver medallist Sergey Shubenkov in a race that featured six of the world finalists — though two were disqualified for false starts including Frenchman Garfield Darrien.

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