Doha:
High jump world record holder Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor believes Qatar’s
Mutaz Essa Barshim can break his 25-year old mark of 2.45 metres.
Speaking in Nicaragua, Sotomayor said: “Only Barshim could break my
mark”. World Champion and Rio Olympics silver medallist Barshim has come
close to bettering Sotomayor’s mark and is widely tipped to do so in
coming years.
“In 2015, Barshim and Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine
came close to the record. They have frequently cleared 2.40. But if I
had to decide a name that could break my mark, it would be Barshim,” the
1992 Olympic champion Sotomayor said. The Cuban set the record on July
27, 1993 in Salamanca, Spain. The closest Barshim has come to create
history was in 2014 in Belgium, when the Qatari ace jumper cleared
2.43m. In 2015, Barshim jumped 2.41m.
Mutaz Essa Barshim
