If any moment showed that Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim is ready to win a fourth consecutive world high jump title at the World Athletics Championships in later this month, it came at last month’s Silesia Diamond League meeting.
There, after seeing the Italian with whom he shared the last Olympic title, Gianmarco Tamberi, and Germany’s Tobias Potye clear 2.34m at their second attempts – while he had failed – Barshim skipped to 2.36m and went over first time to set a world lead and meeting record.
Neither Tamberi nor Potye, for whom 2.34m was a personal best, could proceed further. Once again, the elastic athlete from Doha was bouncing up and down in glee.
Barshim, 32, has had to compete cautiously in recent years to counteract a severe back problem. Tamberi, 31, also returned from an awful ankle injury to re-establish himself at the top. Both have the talent, and character, to win. But you can’t help thinking Barshim will find the way again. “I think I still have a 2.40 jump in me, hopefully this year,” said Barshim, whose personal best of 2.43m is second only to Cuban Javier Sotomayor’s best ever mark of 2.45m, had said after his win in Silesia .
Having won his first world title at the Olympic Stadium in London 2017, Barshim went on to top the podium in front of a home crowd in Doha 2019, before winning an unprecedented third successive global title with victory in Eugene (2022). And he is already looking in ominous form ahead of next month’s World Championships in Budapest.
“I know I’ve achieved a lot, but I’m still chasing and aiming for more. I have set my own goals and targets for 2023 and the World Championships and the Asian Games are at the top of that list. Competing in London is the perfect preparation for Budapest where I’m aiming to win my fourth global title,” he had said recently.
Tamberi, however, will have the extra incentive of trying to win a first world outdoor gold to add to his indoor version from 2016. Potye is clearly a medal contender, too.
Another man who could spoil the party for the joint Tokyo Olympic champions is JuVaughn Harrison of the United States, who stands second in the 2023 top list after winning the London Diamond League meeting on 23 July with 2.35m. It was the third Diamond League victory of the season for the 24-year-old from Alabama - a record that bodes well for his World Championships chances.
A strong challenge will also be posed by Korea’s Woo Sanghyeok, fourth in Tokyo and who last year won world indoor gold and world outdoor silver.
Look out New Zealand’s Commonwealth Games champion Hamish Kerr, who set an Oceanian record of 2.34m indoors this year, plus Australia’s Joel Baden and Ukraine’s world bronze medallist Andriy Protsenko.