Qatar’s world champion high jumper Mutaz Barshim ended his season on a high, jumping 2.40m to win the annual Hochsprung-Eberstadt competition in Germany yesterday.
About 2,000 spectators were treated to some high class action at the event exclusively for high jumpers, where for the first time in the history of the meeting, two jumpers cleared 2.38 metres. 
Barshim, who won the World Championships title in London earlier in August and later went on to dominate the Diamond League events in Birmingham and Zurich, mastered 2.40m and even attempted 2.44m, missing the mark narrowly.
But his outstanding show fetched him a bonus 1,500 euros for equalling his best jump of the year.
“It was great today. It is the best meeting in the world here, the weather was very good, there was a really good atmosphere in the stadium. There were great and hard duels, that spurs me on,” the Qatari champion said.
He added that pressure only motivates him to do better. “When I have pressure and a competitor with whom I have to fight, that I love, which carries me ever higher up. I wanted the arena record and also the world record I had in mind, but I was too excited and also somewhat tired by that whole trip this season. But, I am very satisfied with the result.” 
Neutral athlete Danil Lysenko bolstered his personal best by four centimetres to jump 2.38m and took the third place, while Mateusz Przybylko of Germany with 2.30m came third.
Lysenko was delighted with his performance: “I did not expect two personal records. The World Championships have not been so long and I have not practised so much at the end, so I was surprised to see the results.”
The field, consisting of eleven athletes, remained together up to a height of 2.2m. At 2.24m Ilya Ivanjuk and Michael Mason exited. All the other nine, tackled the 2.27m. Except for Qatar’s Hamdi al-Amin, the winner of the U-23 jumping on Friday, who had made the field, Maksim Nedasekau and the co-favoured Robert Grabarz also made it over the bar.  
Danil Lysenko, who also started under a neutral flag, was the first to attack the 2.30m mark. He was also the only one to make it in the first attempt. 
He finished second in the second to Barshim, followed by local competitor Mateusz Przybylko. 
For the Mexican Edgar Riviera, the Polish Sylwester Bednarek and the Syrian Majd Eddin Ghazal the bar was too high at 2.30m, even if they had previously delivered fantastic jumps. 
So there were still three jumpers left. However, the double-skirmish quickly became a duel, as Lysenko and Barshim flew over 2.33m in the first attempt. Przybylko also scored the third in the third attempt.
What Lysenko and Barshim provided in the sequel was enthralling. First, both mastered 2.36m – Lysenko in the second, Barshim in the first try. 
Then both sailed over 2.38m in the first try. Now the bar was at 2.40m. Barshim mastered the height in the third attempt. Lysenko made three mistakes and was second in a competition at a higher level than the Worlds in London.


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