“I live and breathe high jump”

Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim holds a passport to the world’s elite high jump club. His smooth flight over the pole has not only won him the heart of the nation’s sport fans, but also proffered him a place of pride amongst international high flyers. The Olympic bronze medallist (London 2012) and former student of Aspire Academy, who boasts exceptional victories, enjoyed yet another triumph recently. He clinched not just the gold at the Asian Indoors championship held in Doha a few weeks ago, but in the process also won an unprecedented fourth straight Asian Indoor gold!Clearing 2.43m in Brussels in 2014 (1.3 times his own height), the reigning World Indoor champion and Asian record holder leapt to stardom as he gained recognition as the second highest jumper of all time. This feat has taken him inches close to the longstanding, unbroken international record of 2.45m — set twenty three years ago by Cuban Javier Sotomayor. Nicknamed the Qatari Falcon Mutaz, watching him in action is a sight for sore eyes as he jumps off his left foot, using the Fosbury Flop technique, with a pronounced backward arch over the bar. It does seem like he’s flying over the pole backwards! Community caught up with him for an interview.Tell us something about yourself. I’m an easy going guy; my motto in life is to have my priorities right: God, family and friends. I love sports, especially high jump, it’s everything for me — my job, my fun and my health. As a matter of fact, I live and breathe high jump. I enjoy challenges. My aim is to accomplish as much as possible. And through my life, I want to make a change. What got you interested in sports, especially high-jumping? I was inspired to become a track and field athlete because of my father, who was an athlete himself. Moreover, I come from a family that’s actively involved in sports. Growing up, I would accompany my dad to the track regularly. While he trained, I would see him running, training, doing his drills and remember watching him on TV once as he competed in a Gulf championship. Seeing him finish first was a moment of great inspiration.I became active in athletics very early and began training around 11. By 14, I had narrowed my field to high jump. The fact is that although I loved it, initially, I was terrible at it. As a matter of fact, I was the worst at high jump. But I kept at it as I just felt like I belonged. At 17, my performance turned around and things are what they are today.Of all your achievements, which one do you consider most important. Why?To be honest, it’s hard to answer that, but I would choose my win at the London Olympics in 2012.  I had worked very hard for it and it was really tough. I was carrying the dream of an entire nation on my back — people were hoping and anticipating victory and winning that bronze medal was a great victory for them as well.  Your win at the Olympiad came despite a painful spine injury. Tell us about your experience.  Yes, I was in severe pain and my confidence was pretty low; in fact, I didn’t feel hopeful. I almost wanted to pull out. I had even stopped eating as an athlete should. But thanks to the encouragement and support from my coach, doctor, family and friends, I was able to turn things around mentally. The advice from my mother and coach, telling me to dispel negativity and become positive, was the key. I confirmed my participation just a week before the Olympics.  At the Olympiad, I was jumping with pain, but despite that I won a medal, the feeling was indescribable; it was like a dream. Bringing home the medal, putting your country on the map and making Qatar proud, just felt so good.   You cleared the magical 2.40m barrier at the 2014 Diamond League series in Brussels — something only eight other men have achieved outdoors. Your take? The event was just crazy. When Bohdan Bondarenko jumped the hallowed ‘2.40m’ height, everyone thought it was over for me. In fact, Bohdan was already celebrating and I was thinking “Just wait.” I looked at my coach and he motioned to me, signalling, ‘we can do it’; when I looked at the track everyone was screaming. But it didn’t matter, I had developed tunnel vision. I went out there and cleared 2.43m — the second highest jump in history. The stadium went wild. I couldn’t sleep that night. My back and knees hurt for a week, but we did it; we had made history. What has been your greatest personal challenge so far? My aim is to be a better person every day, because that’s the only way to be the best. What is a typical day like for you? The life of a sportsman is not easy; it’s very busy and involves tremendous sacrifices, especially when it comes to training and diet routines. As a high jumper, you have no equipment to help you; your body is your only equipment. You must therefore, be perfectly fit.A typical week of training would include speed sessions, gym, jumps, physiotherapy and massage; there are lots of details that must be looked into. It’s by no means easy, but this is the lifestyle I chose.What is your motivation?My life has been my motivation, I’ve been though a lot and this has not been easy. But the experiences have made me who I am. You have been nicknamed the ‘Qatari Falcon’. Why do you think you earned that name?I guess that’s because I fly (laughs)! Who is your hero?That would be Muhammad Ali — his life is an inspiration.Do you get nervous before a competition?It’s more like a focused nervousness; I like it as it helps me focus. As a sports hero in the Arab world and an inspiration to the youth in Qatar, what would be your advice to them? Train wisely and keep in mind three important points: victory is the result of hard work, dedication and patience. Remember, there are no shortcuts.You are said to be very close to your coach…The role of my coach Stanislaw Szczyrbia, a Poland-born Swede, has been huge; we have a father-son kind of relationship. I do look up to him like a son, a lesson that I learnt from my own father. What or who do you consider your greatest barrier to reaching higher goals in jumping?Myself — my self-doubt, that is — like the time before the 2012 London Olympics! Your favourite pastime… I enjoy watching Japanese animations. What is your dream destination? Because of my training and competitions, am usually traveling and rarely spend time with my family. So for me, my favourite destination is home. Maybe in the future, I will have a different one. What cuisine do you enjoy the most?  I love Arabic food.Lessons learnt from life: Never take anything or anybody for granted. I’m so grateful and humbled to be doing what I love. With the help of my team, we have cleared the 2.43m mark — the second highest level achieved in the the history of high jumps — it’s like I made gravity wish it never knew me.  #WhatGravity